Supreme Court closes all pending cases in the 2002 Gujarat Riots case
31 Aug 2022 10:45:36
New Delhi, August 30: The Supreme Court on Tuesday, closed all proceedings initiated in aftermath of the 2002 Godhra communal riots in Gujarat.
On February 27, 2002, a train coming from Ayodhya was set on fire by a Muslim mob in Godhra, Gujarat. 59 karsevaks, who were returning from a pilgrimage at Ram Janmabhoomi, were burnt alive. Subsequently, widespread communal riots took place in Gujarat leaving hundreds dead.
In 2019, in a historic judgement ending a dispute spanning centuries, the Supreme Court of India handed over the disputed Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri masjid land to the Hindu parties, making way for Hindu devotees to have a grand Ram Mandir at the birthplace of Lord Ram.
The Apex court also ordered the union government to provide 5 acres of land at an alternate site at a prominent location in Ayodhya to the Sunni Waqf Board to rebuild the Babri Masjid which was demolished in 1992.
The bench of the supreme court delivered a unanimous judgement in the Ram Janmabhoomi case. The top 5 senior judges decided after weighing the arguments presented by all sides for 40 days.
CJI Ranjan Gogoi said that the bench is the final arbitrator in the matter, and he said that the court is not obligated to give a religious rationale while deciding the case.
SC also closed on a batch of contempt petitions against the Uttar Pradesh government and its officials stemming from demolition of Babri controversial structure in Ayodhya in 1992.
In cases about communal riots that erupted in Gujarat in wake of the Godhra Train burning incident, when an Islamist mob torched a Sabarmati Express bogey carrying Karsevaks, killing 59 people, including children and women, the apex court said the cases have become infructuous with time and trials competing in 8 out of 9 cases prosecuted by special investigation team under court’s orders.
On February 27, 2002, a train coming from Ayodhya was set on fire by a Muslim mob in Godhra, Gujarat. 59 karsevaks, who were returning from a pilgrimage at Ram Janmabhoomi, were burnt alive. Subsequently, widespread communal riots took place in Gujarat leaving hundreds dead.
For the cases that were filed over the Babri demolition in Ayodhya in 1992, the SC observed that with more than 3 decades since the incident and given court’s momentous 2019 verdict on Ram Janmbhoomi-Babri structure land dispute case in Ayodhya, the contempt cases don’t survive.
The Apex court also ordered the union government to provide 5 acres of land at an alternate site at a prominent location in Ayodhya to the Sunni Waqf Board to rebuild the Babri Masjid which was demolished in 1992.
The bench of the supreme court delivered a unanimous judgement in the Ram Janmabhoomi case. The top 5 senior judges decided after weighing the arguments presented by all sides for 40 days.
CJI Ranjan Gogoi said that the bench is the final arbitrator in the matter, and he said that the court is not obligated to give a religious rationale while deciding the case.