Gujarat, India: On April 21, the Supreme Court granted bail to eight life convicts in the 2002 Godhra Train Burning Case in Gujarat. Though, the Court refused bail to four other convicts in the case. The Court remarked, “The above applicants were sentenced to suffer imprisonment for life following their convictions under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code 1860 and cognate offences,” while granting bail to the eight life convicts.
The Supreme Court granted bail to (i) Abdul Sattar Ibrahim Gaddi Asla, (ii) Yunus Abdul Hakk Samol, (iii) Mohammad Hanif Abdulla Moulvi Badam, (iv) Abdul Rauf Abdul Majid Isa, (v) Ibrahim Abdulrazak Abdul Sattar Samol, (vi) Ayub Abdul Gani Ismail Pataliya, (vii) Soheb Yusuf Ahmed Kalandar, (viii) Suleman Ahmad Hussain.
The Supreme Court released the life convicts on bail in consideration of the period of imprisonment undergone and as their “appeals are not likely to be taken up for disposal at an early date.” Furthermore, the Court said that their bail is subject to terms and conditions “as may be imposed by the sessions court.”
However, the Court also rejected bail for the four life convicts in consideration of their role in the Godhra Train Burning Case. The four life convicts not released on bail are (i) Anwar Mohammad Mehda, (ii) Saukat Abdulla Moulvi Ismail Badam, (iii) Mehboob Yakub Mitha and (iv) Siddik Mohammad Mora.
Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta told the Court, “I only have some issue with four persons because of their roles.” He added, “From one of them, an iron pipe was recovered, and from another, a dhariya. It is a Gujarati word for a weapon that looks like a sickle. Another convict was found purchasing, storing, and carrying petrol which was used for burning the coach. The last one attacked the passengers, causing injuries, and looted them.”
The convict’s counsel Senior Advocate Sanjay Hegde urged the Court to adjourn the hearing for the four convicts whose bail is opposed by the Solicitor General and grant bail to the other convicts. He said, “I make this suggestion specifically because there is a festival tomorrow.” Senior Advocate S Nagamuthu concurred with Sanjay Hegde’s request for adjourning bail to four convicts instead of dismissing it.
The Solicitor General insisted, “I would say kindly reject their bail applications.” He added, “You may leave it open for them to revive these applications after a year or so.” Thereafter, the Court dismissed the bail application for the four convicts and said, “We are not inclined to grant them bail at this stage.”
Gujarat Government Seeks Death Sentence for Convicts
It is pertinent to note that on February 20, the Gujarat Government informed the Supreme Court that it would seek the death penalty for 11 prisoners whose sentences in the Godhra train burning case of 2002 were converted to life imprisonment by the Gujarat High Court.
“We will vigorously advocate for the execution of those whose death sentences were modified to life imprisonment” (by the Gujarat High Court). This is the rarest of rare incidents in which 59 people, including women and children, were burned alive, the Solicitor General informed the bench. “It is uniformly the case that the monster was imprisoned from the outside. There were 59 deaths, including women and children,” he added.
Godhra Train Burning
In March 2011, the trial court convicted 31 accused, of whom 11 convicts were sentenced to death and the remaining 20 accused were awarded life imprisonment. However, 63 accused were acquitted. Though, in 2017, the Gujarat High Court commuted the death sentence for the 11 convicts to life imprisonment and upheld the life term for other convicts.
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