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Journalism of Courage
The Supreme Court granted bail Friday to eight men convicted in the 2002 Godhra train burning case in which 59 people were burnt to death when the S-6 coach of the Sabarmati Express was set on fire by a mob. Four other convicts were denied bail.
A total of 31 convicts were sentenced by the trial court in 2011 — 11 were sentenced to death and 20 to life imprisonment. In 2017, the Gujarat High Court commuted the death sentence to life terms — all 31 got life imprisonment.
The bench of Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha granted bail to Abdul Sattar Ibrahim Gaddi Asla, Yunus Abdul Hakk Samol, Mohammad Hanif Abdulla Moulvi Badam, Abdul Rauf Abdul Majid Isa @ Dhesli, Ibrahim Abdulrazak Abdul Sattar Samol @ Bhano, Ayub Abdul Gani Ismail Pataliya, Soheb Yusuf Ahmed Kalandar and Suleman Ahmad Hussain @ Tiger Peer Musalman.
The bench said “we are inclined to grant bail to” them “having due regard to the period of imprisonment which has been undergone, particularly since the appeals are not likely to be taken up for disposal at an early date”.
It accordingly ordered that they be released on bail, subject to such terms and conditions as may be imposed by the Sessions Court.
The bench, however, declined to grant the relief to four other convicts – Anwar Mohammad Mehda, Saukat Abdulla Moulvi Ismail Badam, Mehboob Yakub Mitha @ Popa and Siddik Mohammad Mora (Moraiya).
The Gujarat government had opposed their bail pleas, calling it a rarest of rare case.
In May 2022, the Supreme Court had granted interim bail to Abdul Rahman Dhantiya on medical grounds to attend to his wife, and mentally challenged daughters. In December 2022, it also granted bail to another convict who had spent 17 years in jail.
The February 27, 2002 train burning incident in Godhra led to communal riots in Gujarat.
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