Lawyers for Godhra accused take fight for ‘fair’ pay to HC

The lawyers were being allotted remuneration of around Rs 450 per hearing by the state government as per rules. However,Hasan and Charkha have objected to this rate and demanded “fair” remuneration on several grounds including the recommendations by the trial court in this regard.

The petition has its roots in the trial when six lawyers,appointed as legal aid to some of the accused in the Godhra train Carnage Case,had moved an application to this effect before the special judge during the trial.

They had mentioned various factors to get “fair” wage in the case like travelling from Godhra to Ahmedabad,hotel stay,and the affect on their private practices.

Interestingly,the trial court had,then,forwarded the application to the state government while recommending to pay higher remunerations to the lawyers as per the rules and regulations and after considering the circumstances of the case.

The special public prosecutor for the case was getting Rs 15,000 for every effective hearing whereas,his assistant special public prosecutor was getting Rs 5,000 per such hearing.

However,when nothing happened over the issue,Hasan and Charkha moved the HC with their demand to get fair pay. The petition stands pending and the state government is expected to give its final decision over the issue to the court. The petition has been posted for next hearing on March 26.

Initially,the court proceedings in the case were being conducted in Godhra. However,following the orders of the Supreme Court,the trial court was shifted to Sabarmati Central Jail in Ahmedabad.

The special trial court presided over by the then Principal District Judge of Panchmahals,P R Patel,had,on February 22 last year,convicted 31 accused in the case; 11 of them were given death sentence and 63 persons were acquitted from the case.