The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed the appeal filed by Zakia Jafri, wife of Congress leader Ehsan Jafri who was killed during the violence at Ahmedabad’s Gulberg Society in 2002, challenging the SIT`s clean chit to then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and others during the riots in the state.
A bench, headed by Justice AM Khanwilkar said that intriguingly, the present proceedings have been pursued for the last 16 years (from submission of complaint dated June 8, 2006 running into 67 pages and then by filing 514-page protest petition dated April 15, 2013) including with the audacity to question the integrity of every functionary involved in the process of exposing the devious stratagem adopted.
The judgement, remarkably, dedicated two-pages to Zee News Editor-in-Chief Sudhir Chaudhary’s interview with PM Modi, who was then Chief Minister of Gujarat.
#DNA Sudhir Chaudhary mentioned in SC’s decision on Gujarat riots@sudhirchaudhary
Watch other videos here – https://t.co/ZoADfwBf2S pic.twitter.com/xwDD7N2Gcg
— Zee News (@ZeeNews) June 24, 2022
The judgement mentions that a requisition was sent to Zee TV during the probe, to make available a copy of the CD of Sudhir Chaudhary’s interview with PM Modi.
The said interview was conducted by Sudhir Chaudhary on March 1, 2002.
“After going through the Editor’s Guild Fact-Finding Mission report dated 03.05.2002, Shree Chaudhary had stated that the same were only a few excerpts from the said interview and the original CD of the said interview was not before him,” the judgement said.
“As per his recollection, he had questioned Shri Narendra Modi about the Chamanpura massacre (Gulberg Society case), in which former Congress MP Late Ahesan Jafri had been killed with many others to which the Chief Minister had replied that the mob had reacted on account on private firing done by Late Ahesan Jafri, Ex-MP. After refreshing his memory from the Editor’s Guild report, Shri Sudhir Chaudhary has stated that the Chief Minister was of the view that he neither wanted action nor reaction,” it adds.
Sudhir Chaudhary, a correspondent with the Zee Network at that time, further stated that he questioned the CM about the widespread violence that followed the Godhra incident. The CM had replied as follows:
“Godhra main jo parson hua, jahan par chalees (40) mahilaon aur bacchon ko zinda jala diya, is main desh main aur videsh main sadma pahunchna swabhavik tha. Godhra ke is ilake ki criminal tendencies rahi hain. In logo ne pahele mahila teachers ka khoon kiya aur ab yeh jaghanya apraadh kiya hai jiski pratikria ho rahi hai.”
The judgement further says that Chaudhary was unable to recollect the exact sequence of events after a span of 9 years, and moreover, the CD was available with him.
“Shri Narendra Modi had been questioned about the aforesaid interview given to Zee TV on 01.03.2002. He has stated that those who have read the history of Gujarat would definitely be aware that communal violence in Gujarat has a long history and the State had witnessed serious incidents of such communal violence. As regards the Zee TV interview of 01.03.2002 is concerned, Shri Modi has stated that after a period of eight years, he did not recollect the exact words, but he had always appealed only and only for peace. He (Shri Modi) had further stated that he had tried to appeal to the people to shun violence in straight and simple language. He had also stated that if his words cited in this question are considered in the correct perspective, then it would be evident that there is a very earnest appeal for people refraining from any kind of violence. He had denied all the allegations against him in this regard,” it added.