The Gujarat High Court on Monday adjourned the hearing on confirmation cases and appeals in the Sabarmati Express train burning incident at Godhra.
A Division Bench of Justices Anant Dave and Sonia Gokani posted the matter for hearing on September 2.
Delivering its verdict in the case in February 2011, the Special Investigation Team court sentenced 11 accused to death and awarded life imprisonment to 20 others. All the accused have appealed against the trial court sentence. In addition, the State government challenged the 62 acquittals in the case and sought the death penalty for those sentenced to life.
One of the accused persons, Salim alias Salman Yusuf Sattar Zarda has requested the Chief Justice of the High Court, Bhaskar Bhattacharya, to assign another judge for the case in the place of Ms. Justice Gokani.
Mr. Zarda had raised a concern over Justice Gokani hearing the appeals, since she was the special judge at the POTA (Prevention of Terrorism Act) court for six years and heard many an application by other accused. His request is pending before Justice Bhattacharya.
On February 27, 2002, 59 passengers, including kar sevaks, died in the Sabarmati Express train near Godhra station. The trial court convicted 31 people and acquitted 63. Maulana Umarji, one of the accused persons to be acquitted, has since died.
