SC dismisses Zakia Jafri plea: ‘Disappointed with verdict… will decide on future course after returning from Mecca’, says Zakia son
Tanveer Jafri, who resides in Surat, said he was handling the legal battle as his 82-year old mother had a hearing problem and could not stand or walk for extended periods.
Tanveer Jafri, the son of the Gulberg society massacre survivor Zakia Jafri, expressed disappointment Friday with the Supreme Court verdict that upheld the clean chit to the then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and 63 others in the 2002 riots.
Now available at Rs 2/day.
A bench presided over by Justice A M Khanwilkar upheld the decision of the Ahmedabad Metropolitan Magistrate to accept the closure report of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) — which was appointed by the top court — rejecting the protest petition filed by Zakia.
Tanveer, who is in Mecca for the Haj pilgrimage, told The Indian Express: “I am disappointed with the top court’s order delivered today. I also had a talk with her (his mother) about the order and she said she had full faith in the Almighty. I will also pray so that we get justice.”
Tanveer, who resides in Surat, said he was handling the legal battle as his 82-year old mother had a hearing problem and could not stand or walk for extended periods.
Subscriber Only Stories
Zakia was at a relative’s place “outside Gujarat”, he added.
“I was praying at Haram-sharif (near Kabatulla), when my friend called and informed me about the order. I have gone through the primary details and found that it has over 450 pages. I will need time to go through it,” said Tanveer, adding that he said he would decide on a course of action after returning.
Zakia’s husband Ahsan Jafri, a Congress MP, was among the 69 people killed in the massacre on February 28, 2002.
Newsletter | Click to get the day’s best explainers in your inbox
The SIT formed by the Supreme Court had submitted a closure report in 2012 giving a clean chit to then chief minister Narendra Modi after a preliminary investigation into the complaint filed by Zakia against Modi and 63 others including bureaucrats and policemen. It said there was no prosecutable evidence against them.
The Metropolitan Magistrate’s court, where the complaint had been filed, endorsed the clean chit.
Zakia filed a petition before the Gujarat High Court against the SIT report. The Gujarat High Court in 2017 dismissed the petition. She then filed a protest petition before the Supreme Court against accepting the SIT’s report.
📣 Join our Telegram channel (The Indian Express) for the latest news and updates
For all the latest Surat News, download Indian Express App.
- The Indian Express website has been rated GREEN for its credibility and trustworthiness by Newsguard, a global service that rates news sources for their journalistic standards.