Former BJP minister Maya Kodnani, convicted in Naroda Patiya massacre case and currently out on bail, on Monday told the special trial court hearing the Naroda Gam riots case that she will require more time to “contact” BJP president Amit Shah to serve him summons to appear as her defence witness. Kodnani, who is a key accused in the Naroda Gam riots case, in her application to the trial court said that since BJP president Amit Shah is not “reachable” due to his busy schedules, “it is difficult to decide as to which address the summons be served to him.” “Therefore, the applicant’s right to examine the witness be extended till September 12, 2017,” her application stated. While adjourning the case, special judge P B Desai granted Kodnani time till September 8 for Shah to testify. After that, the judge said, he would close the examination of defence witnesses. He also stressed on the need to start the final argument in the case, citing last month’s Supreme Court order in which it had directed the trial court to wrap up the hearing in four months. In the past too, Kodnani’s lawyer had sought time from the court, saying that “Amit Shah was busy, and contacting him was difficult.” In the last hearing, the special judge had asked Kodnani’s lawyer whether Shah would be appearing in her defence or not. Kodnani had sought examination of 14 people, including Amit Shah, to prove her alibi that on February 28, 2002, the day riots broke out in Naroda Gam, she was not at the scene of the crime. Twelve people have testified in her favour that includes her husband Surendra Kodnani, former deputy mayor and BJP corporator Dinesh Makwana, former BJP MLA Amrish Govindbhai Patel among others. Kodnani is accused of leading a mob of thousands of people and inciting them for violence in Naroda Gam in which 11 Muslims were killed. She is among the 82 accused who are facing trial. In 2012, she was convicted on similar charges and sentenced to life imprisonment for her role in Naroda Patiya massacre, a place close to Naroda Gam. She was held as the “kingpin” of the riots. She and 31 other convicts have challenged the verdict in the Gujarat High Court which concluded its hearing on August 30 and reserved the verdict.
