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Journalism of Courage
Special Judge A.P. Thipsay today said the Gujarat and Maharashtra governments may approach the Supreme Court on appointing a special public prosecutor if they cannot come to a consensus before July 5, the next date of hearing.
‘‘If both do not arrive at a consensus on that day (July 5), an appropriate direction from the Supreme Court may be obtained,’’ he said. In which case, the trial will stand adjourned till July 19. The Maharashtra government had issued a notice on June 18, naming four public prosecutors, including two from Gujarat, but the judge today said Maharashtra had no role to play in appointing the prosecutor. He, however, said it was only his observation and would like a clarification to be sought from the Supreme Court.
At the hearing today, Atul Mehta with T.S. Nanavati (appointed by Gujarat) and Manjula Rao, who is to assist P.R. Vakil (the two Maharashtra appointees), informed the judge of their appointments by the state governments. Since the trial was shifted to Maharashtra, the state had the right to appoint the prosecutor, Rao argued. Mehta objected.
The third player in the re-trial — advocate Mihir Desai — who represents main witness Zaheera Sheikh, has refused to accept the Gujarat prosecutor and is rooting for appointments by Maharashtra. Desai today pleaded that his client was a petitioner before the SC and had the right to approach the apex court to seek a clarification on the issue. The SC judgment ordering the retrial outside Gujarat said the public prosecutor be appointed after consultation with the victims.
Gujarat police moved a Vadodara court today to declare 12 absconders in the case as proclaimed offenders.
Fourteen people, most of them from the minority community, were burnt to death in the Best Bakery in Vadodara on March 1, 2002. A Vadodara court acquitted all 21 accused after witnesses turned hostile. The Gujarat High Court upheld the acquittal.
Later, prime witness Zaheera Sheikh moved SC for a retrial, saying she had been intimidated. Zaheera’s mother Sehrunissa broke her silence to The Indian Express, saying she and her daughter had lied in court ‘‘trembling with fear’’. The SC then ordered a retrial in Maharashtra.
