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CJP |
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CJP |
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Gujarat Riots |
Crime Against Humanity
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Press Release October 12, 2007 SC: Intervene to protect lives of Witnesses, Summon Tapes The Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) through its secretary Teesta Setalvad has filed an intervention application in the pending cases before the Supreme Court today. asking for the recent Telekha sting operation "Gujarat Ka Kalank, [print issue :"The Truth –Gujarat 2002 –In the Words of the Men who Did It"] to be summoned, examined as evidence and hearings of the case be expedited immediately. The application states that the lives of survivors and witnesses is in serious danger today with those accused of mass crimes roaming free, gloating about accused who raped, killed made arms and conspired with the topmost authorities in the state. This intervention application was filed in the transfer case related to the Godhra mass arson, Gulberg Massacre, Naroda gaon and Patiya massacres, Sardarpura and Ode carnages that have been pending since they were stayed in November 2003.
In the application, the CJP has stated that the brazen admission and gloating by accused of heinous crimes who are roaming free in Gujarat that they killed and slaughtered and raped innocents put the lives of over 190 eye witnesses and victim survivors in grave danger and urged the apex court to treat the issue with the immediacy of a life threatening situation. The Supreme Court should intervene and protect lives of witnesses and the evidence which is likely to be destroyed by the state and its agencies, immediately.
The CJP had in May 2002 itself on the basis of the report of the National Human Rights Commission report of May 2002, on May 2, 2002 itself asked for an independent re-investigation into all these major cases and the case has been pending since then. Thereafter, way back in 2003, following the sensational exposures in the BEST Bakery case, the National Human Rights Commission filed a transfer case asking for transfer of all these major trials out of Gujarat . The CJP intervened in this transfer petition and filed over 65 affidavits by victim survivors and eye witnesses that detailed deliberate dropping of accused by the police, threats to witnesses, failure of the lower courts in Gujarat , intimidation by the police etc. All major eye witnesses and victims had filed affidavits before the apex court. On November 21, 2003, considering these affidavits, the Hon'ble Supreme Court stayed these trials. Since then there have been over two dozen hearings, each time the CJP and victim survivors have pointed out the failure and deliberate obfuscations by the Gujarat state machinery. The state of Gujarat has consistently sought to seek adjournment and postponement of these cases.
The application points out that " the safety and security of victim survivors and witnesses given the high level and brazen patronage of state sponsored violence in the state is at stake. As far as criminal trials and the administration of justice is concerned, these revelations are indicators that evidence may severely be affected or tampered with by the powers that be in Gujarat and in the light of this report and the fact that the witnesses are still being threatened and there are allegations of complicity between the killers and not just the police and law and order machinery but sections of the judicary, the security and safety of the victim survivors and witnesses remains a serious question mark. It is imperative that the matters for re-investigation and transfer out of the state of Gujarat, get heard on an urgent basis. It is submitted that in the last five years, the State has managed to harm the trials to a large extent already, by repeated obfuscations, falsehoods and delays and that, any further delay will only further make these trials impossible to prosecute."
The prayers in this application are : a) allow the present application and place the matters on board (pending for final hearing) for hearing on an urgent basis; b) summon the original CDs, transcripts and all other material that may be available with Tehelka in relation to the aforesaid report to the record of this Hon'ble Court and to c) pass such other order(s) as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the case.
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