Aug
11
Bilkis Case Transferred to Bombay; Other Trials Stayed and Best Bakery Delayed
August 11, 2004 | Comments Off on Bilkis Case Transferred to Bombay; Other Trials Stayed and Best Bakery Delayed
The Supreme Court has decided to move the Bilkis case outside of Gujarat. This case arises out of the gang-rape of 3 and murder of 14 family members of Bilkis Yakub Rasool during the 2002 Gujarat pogroms against Muslims. This move follows in the footsteps of the Best Bakery case, which was the first pogrom case ordered retried outside of Gujarat:
Ms. Bilkis Banoo is under constant threat. She and her family members had to change houses 20 times in the last two-and-a-half years because of security reasons. Even the media conference she addressed here this evening was under very heavy police escort because of the “threat perception.”…
The transfer of the case is one milestone, but other logistic problems remain. The transportation of the 54 witnesses, including 26 from her own village, from Gujarat to Mumbai, their boarding and lodging there during the trial and several other issues are pending. Ms. Naqvi and Ms. Khan said they hoped that the CBI, which was investigating the case, would be required to take care of the witnesses, “but there is no specific direction from the Supreme Court on the resources.”
The Best Bakery case, transferred to Mumbai in April, has been delayed because of the state government’s failure to appoint a public prosecutor:
The Supreme Court on Monday took exception to the delay in appointment of a public prosecutor in the Best Bakery case trial…
A bench headed up Justice Arijit Pasayat took exception to the fact that the public prosecutor appointed by the government had opposed the issuance of non-bailable arrest warrants against the accused in the case, which was shifted from Gujarat to Mumbai on the direction of the apex court.
“You are showing true colours right from the day one,” the bench said. “What sort of public prosecutor is he who opposes arrest warrants against accused who do not appear before the court.”
The trial was due to be completed by mid-December, but the controversy over the appointment of a public prosecutor has held it up.
Witnesses in another case arising from the pogroms have also requested transfer of their case, due to threats from accused out on bail. The accused include senior members of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), including the local chief. The Supreme Court also stayed two other prominent cases, while it decides whether to transfer these outside of Gujarat.
The Gujarat section of the blog gives recent news and developments in these cases, as well as other issues arising out of the 2002 pogroms.
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