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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday sought details of the convicts including their age and time served in prison to aid the Court in deciding a batch of bail applications moved by the convicts in the case.
A bench Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice PS Narasimha and Justice JB Pardiwala made the request in view of the large number of bail applications before the Court.
“Can the advocates on record appearing on behalf of petitioner and State counsel can sit together can prepare one consolidated chart and prepare for our convenience? … Let us have the comprehensive chart … If the chart shows that how much prison time served, offences against them, the age etc.”
During arguments today, the Gujarat government, represented by Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, voiced strong disagreement with the High Court’s 2017 decision to reduce the death sentence awarded to 11 convicts to life imprisonment.
Mehta apprised the Court that the trial court had awarded the life sentence to 20 convicts and the death sentence to 11 convicts. The High Court late commuted the death sentence to life imprisonment for the 11 convicts, he recounted.
“59 people were burnt alive.. including ladies and children. The train bogey was locked outside so that they cannot come outside … Regarding commuting death to life.. this is a rarest of rare case and is fit for death sentence,” the SG said.
On the role of the convicts, Mehta added,
“The first convict, who has challenged the sentence … He was pelting stones with the motive that passengers do not come out.. damaged coach … Accused was identified during test identification parade also. he has undergone close to 17 years and here life sentence will mean life imprisonment … Now, the second person played an important role in lighting fire to the coach. He procured the petrol and also used it to burn the coach.”
“The wife is suffering from last stage cancer.. How old are they now?” the Court queried.
Senior Advocate Sanjay Hegde said that some of the convicts were now in their 60s. Hegde also left it to the Court to take a call on whether the death sentence is maintainable or not against the 11 convicts who were earlier given this punishment by the trial court.
“Yes, it was a very serious crime. We are strongly contending it,” Mehta maintained.
Senior Advocate KTS Tulsi informed the Court that one of the accused, Bilal Ismail, did not know Gujarati when he had put his thumb impression on a document, without knowing the contents of the statement.
The Court, however, proceeded to adjourn the matter for another day and ordered the preparation of an information chart, in the meanwhile.
“Since large number of bail applications filed, the Advocates on Record appearing for petitioner and respondent including Advocate Swati Ghildiyal would prepare a comprehensive chart as indicated.” the Court ordered.
Last December, the top Court had granted bail to one of the 31 convicts in the Godhra train burning of February 2002.
The Godhra train burning had led to the communal riots in Gujarat in which around 2,000 people were killed.
