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October 18, 2003
IN
THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA SPECIAL
LEAVE PETITION (CRL) NO. 3770 OF
2003 IN
THE MATTER OF: CITIZENS
FOR JUSTICE AND PEACE AND
OTHERS
PETITIONERS VERSUS STATE
OF GUJARAT AND OTHERS
RESPONDENTS AFFIDAVIT
ON BEHALF OF THE PETITIONERS. I
Teesta Setalvad, Petitioner No.2, of the address “Nirant”
Bungalow, Juhu Tara Road, Mumbai 400049 do solemnly affirm as
under:- 1.
I say that I have been closely involved in assisting the
victims of the riots in filing their cases and have also filed
petitions before this Hon’ble Court. 2.
I say that pursuant to the submissions made in the Court
during the last hearing about the appointment of new prosecutors in
various pending trials, and the statements made by the DGP before
this Hon’ble Court, I have made some enquiries and have discovered
certain glaring facts about the manner in which investigations have
been conducted, the political antecedents of the public prosecutors
and details of pending trials relating to the carnage in Gujarat. 3.
I am setting out herein the same and am filing the affidavit
for the limited purpose of placing the aforesaid facts before this
Hon’ble Court. 4.
With regard to the antecedents of the prosecutors, I submit
as under: a.
Shri Raghuvir Pandya, the public prosecutor in the case
relating to Best Bakery is
a member of the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh is also a card-holding
member of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and
contested elections from Ward 20, Corporation Majalpur in
1996. He
has been District Government Pleader for Two Years and is a Notary
in the BJP Government in Gujarat. Interestingly In the Fast track
court of Judge H.U. Mahida, all matters were handled by Public
Prosecutor, Mr. Gupta. But
at the time of interrogation of witnesses Mr Raghuvir N. Pandya was
suddenly appointed as public prosecutor. b.
Chetan Shah, an
Ahmedabad-based criminal lawyer, is an ardent Vishwa Hindu Parishad
(VHP) supporter. He was appointed public prosecutor for the state for two major
cases, the Gulberg Society massacre in which the former Congress
Member of Parliament Shri Ahsan Jaffri was brutally massacred along
with over 70 others (there were 10-12 gang rapes on girls and women
before the killings). ·
Until
September 2003, Shah was defending all the 35 accused in the Gulberg
Housing Society Massacre. All the accused are out on bail. ·
Shah
has been on the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) panel of lawyers for
over two decades. ·
In
1986, Shah was named in an FIR in connection with burning alive
seven Muslims ·
He
was acquitted in that case for ‘‘lack of evidence.’’ ·
In
June 2003, eye-witnesses from the Gulberg massacre, including Firoz
Mohammed Gulzar Pathan who lost 5 family members in the massacre,
case officially protested against his appointment because of his
antecedents. An official protest letter to state Law Minister Ashok
Bhatt, the Law Secretary and the principal judge, City Sessions
Court was sent against his appointment. The
government of Gujarat simply did not respond nor did the Sessions
Court take any steps or give any directions
It
was only after the sharp directions by the Honorable Supreme Court
in the BEST Bakery Case on September 12, 2003 that Firozmohammed
Gulzarmohammed Pathan and another witness Sairabehn Salimbhai sandhi
received a letter from the Registrar of the City Civil Court
Ahmedabad, Mr. JH Champavat dated september 16, 2003 stating that
Shri VP Atre has been appointed instead. In fact
Mr. VP ATRE is the junior of
Mr.Chetan Shah. c.
In Mehsana District Mr.Dilip
Trivedi, who is the general secretary of the Districte VHP, heads
the 12 member
prosecutor’s panel of that district.
Mr.Trivedi is the prosecutor in the Sardarpura carnage in
which 33 persons were
burnt alive on Feb 28, 2002 and in which all 46 accused are
out on bail. He was also
the prosecutor in another incident in the same town wherein 11
persons were hacked to death in Dipda Darwaja area of Visnagar and
trial is pending ( Of the 45 accused, 38 are out on bail).
I have been informed that when the complainants filed an
application in the Gujarat High Court objecting to Trivedi’s role,
Additional Public Prosecutor S J Dave said that the government would
consider the appointment of a special public prosecutor but it could
not give a commitment. Thereafter Mr. Trivedi has been removed from the Dipda Darwaja case and replaced with Mr.
Rajendra Darji, another lawyer who is sympathetic to the VHP. d.
In Panchmahals
District some of the worst
Carnages have taken place. I have been informed that one of the
Public prosecutors, Mr.Piyush Gandhi is the president of the
Panchmahals District of the VHP unit. 5. I say that with
regard to faulty investigation in the Best Bakery case, I have
discovered that: Police
have called in relatives of the accused as
Witnesses. a.
Panch Witness NANDUBEHN JAMSING examined in court on 9.6.2003
who turned HOSTILE is the MOTHER of Accused No 6,
JAYANTIBHAI JAMSING GOHIL b.
Witness KAMLABEHN SOLANKI examined in court on 9.6.2003 who
turned HOSTILE is the MOTHER of Accused No. 9,MUNNO alias HARSHAD
RAJIVBHAI SOLANKI c.
WITNESS MAlTIBEHN CHAUHAN examined in court on 9.6.2003 is
the MOTHER of Accused No 21, RAVI RAJARAM CHAUHAN. d.
Eye-witness BHIKHIBEHN KHOKAR examined in court on 9.6.2003
who turned HOSTILE is the WIFE of Accused No 13 YASINBHAI
ALIBHAI KHOKHAR. The Police Inspector KANANI , who was the
chief investigating officer from March 10,2002 has been indicted and
named by the witnesses for his violent behaviour against many of the
victims in other areas of Vadodara in this period. This was
documented on the basis of the statements made to the Concerned
Citizens Tribunal –Crimes Against Humanity, Gujarat 2002
which comprised amongst
others Justice VR Krishna Iyer, Justice P.B.Sawant, Justice H.Suresh.
6.
I crave leave to refer to and rely upon the said report at
the time of hearing of the petition. 7.
I say that there are trials which are still pending in which
major massacres have taken place and investigations have been
faulty. I say that these trials if not transferred outside the State
of Gujarat will meet with the same fate as the other cases like the
Best Bakery.
a.
Godhra Case. FIR No 09/2002. b.
Gulberg
Society/Chamanpura: Case No 1007 of 2003 c.
Naroda
Patiya and Naroda Gaon d.
SARDARPURA
town, MEHSANA DISTRICT PANCHMAHALS
DISTRICT (SC NO 143/02 sessions Court Panchmahals (11 dead) and the
other is SC No 142/02 sessions court 1 dead e.
SESAN,
BANASKANTHA DISTRICT SC
No 141/02 f.
ABASANA, CR
No I-22/2002; g.
ODE, ANAND District. 8.
I say that this affidavit and almost all the cases before
this Hon’ble Court are confined to the most brutal cases of mass
killing . There are innumerable cases where there has been sexual
violence against women, mass destruction, looting and seizure of
property, economic destruction and religious and cultural
desecration. The report of the Concerned Citizens Tribunal has given
a detailed account of the same. I submit that this Hon’ble Court
may direct the State of Gujarat to submit the details of all the
Complaints filed, FIRs registered and presecution launched in these
cases as well. 9.
I say that almost all the victims that I have met with so far
have been terrorized and do not think that they would ever justice
from any Court in the State of Gujarat with the existing prosecution
machinery.
Deponent Verification: Verified
at New Delhi on this 17th day of October 2003 that the
contents of the above affidavit is true and correct, no part of it
is false and nothing material has been concealed thereform. Deponent
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