Three months to decide: state govt

Reacting to the statements by both Sehrunissa and Zaheera Sheikh that they lied under duress in the Best Bakery court proceedings, the Gujar...

Reacting to the statements by both Sehrunissa and Zaheera Sheikh that they lied under duress in the Best Bakery court proceedings, the Gujarat government said today that it’s waiting for the report from the public prosecutor—and legal opinion—before it decides on an appeal against the acquittal of all 21 accused.

Minister of State for Home Amit Shah said today that the government is prepared ‘‘to provide adequate protection to witnesses’’ in all post-Godhra riot cases to ensure the cases do not go the Best Bakery way.

About filing appeal in the Best Bakery case, he said: ‘‘We still have three months to take a decision. We are awaiting a report from the public prosecutor.’’

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Asked if the government would be encouraged to have the case re-tried or re-investigated, Shah said: ‘‘We have not decided on that.’’

Pressed, Shah said: ‘‘The accused in similar other cases, like the killing of 21 people belonging to the Sindhi community in Godhra, or the anti-Sikh riots in Delhi, were set free. Did previous regimes appeal against the court order then?’’

But he hastened to add: ‘‘The present government would not like to follow what the previous Congress regimes did in such cases. This government believes in justice and is not averse to appealing against the Best Bakery acquittal order. But this can be done purely on the merits of the case.’’

Shah criticised Opposition parties and human rights activists for the hue and cry over the acquittals. ‘‘There’s no point in crying foul over the court order now. They should have provided legal advice and other assistance to the witnesses before they turned hostile,’’ he said.

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