Best Bakery: SC turns another screw

This was announced by a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court comprising Chief Justice V N Khare, Justice S B Sinha and Justice A R Lakshmanan during the resumed hearing of the NHRC petition.

The selection of Salve as amicus curiae is significant as he while declined the Modi Government’s request to appear instead took up the case of rape and riot victim Bilkis Yakub Rasool. Five months pregnant, she was raped and was a witness to the killing of her three-year-old daughter and 13 relatives, including her two sisters, mother and two brothers. The local magistrate closed her case without giving her a hearing.

Additional Solicitor General Mukul Rohtagi, who appeared for the Gujarat government, submitted that the amended appeal of the state government has been admitted by the High Court and it will come up for hearing on December 1. He also submitted that experienced lawyers had been appointed as public prosecutors to conduct the trial in the High Court.

Referring to the expose in The Indian Express on the antecedents of the public prosecutors chosen for riot cases—the key ones are affiliated to the VHP—the Chief Justice stressed that persons with good credentials needed to be appointed. Rohatgi said that the fresh appointments were made in consultation with the High Court.

The Chief Justice remarked that whoever it may be, he or she must be objective and fair. He also wanted to be kept posted on the progress of the case.

KTS Tulsi, appearing for the accused in the Best Bakery case, said that there is no provision anywhere in the Criminal Procedure Code for a third party to intervene in an appeal.

To say that it is an unprecedented situation and allowing such an appeal by the NHRC is an unprecedented step in our legal system, he said.

The Indian Penal Code has stood the test of time. At no point of time in the past was such an appeal allowed. This amounts to circumventing the entire procedure and massive prejudice is sought to be provided, he argued.

But the Chief Justice remarked that it is an exceptional situation.

Intervening in the proceedings, an advocate S N Jha posed the question as to why the NHRC was only interested in Gujarat communal violence cases and not in Bihar where every three hours there is a murder and every two hours a kidnap.

Senior consel Indira Jaising, who appeared on behalf of well-known danseuse Mallika Sarabhai, made an impassioned plea for the transfer of the cases outside Gujarat. She also sought enhancement of compensatioon for the riot victims and investigation by the CBI into the cases.

The compensation is one lakh rupees for death and in some cases one hundred rupees were given for a house destroyed, she said.

Rohtagi told the court that apart from the permission to adduce additional evidence, the amended appeal also sought permission for re-investigation and re-trial of the case.

Counsel for NHRC P P Rao made a plea for an investigation by the CBI. He also sought for a re-trial of the case and shifting of it outside Gujarat.

The bench adjoured the hearing to October 17. It also asked the Gujarat government to file comprehensive responses to the seven petitioons which were tagged on along with the NHRC petition, within six weeks.