Post-Godhra Carnage Case

Gujarat Child Welfare Minister Mayaben Kodnani, accused of leading rioters in the post-Godhra carnage, has resigned recently from her post and surrendered before the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigative Team (SIT) after the Gujarat High Court rejected her plea for anticipatory bail. Also arrested along with her is Jaydeep Patel, VHP leader, who stands accused of similar charges. The development is a big blow to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and his BJP Government in the State.

Ms Kodnani, a three-time MLA from Naroda constituency, is an accused in the Naroda Gam and Naroda Patiya massacre cases. Approximately 100 Muslims were killed in these two incidents.

Extricating Truth
The Supreme Court had appointed the SIT to reinvestigate nine riot cases in Gujarat. The SIT asked for the arrest of Ms Kodnani in connection with the cases. The SIT states that over a dozen witnesses saw Ms Kodnani not only leading the rioters, but also carrying weapons.

The apprehensions of human rights activists that it would be difficult to extricate the truth in this context led them to conclude that the judicial system was the best way forward to get justice for the riot victims. Since 2003, the Supreme Court has been acting as a bulwark against attempts by the Gujarat administration to obstruct justice. It was the Supreme Court that set the terms under which the SIT could proceed. In a strong indication of the purpose of reopening the investigation into these cases, the apex court observed that religious fanatics are worse than terrorists.

Gruesome Case
The resignation Ms. Kodnani and her surrender before the SIT investigating the most gruesome cases in the post-Godhra communal carnage of 2002 is a signal to citizens of this country that the principles of equal justice for all and the rule of law are not just abstract concepts but can and will be implemented.

That seven years after the blood curdling massacres of February 28, 2002 in the localities of Naroda Patiya and Gulberg Society, both Ms Kodnani and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Jaideep Patel were forced to surrender after the cancellation of the anticipatory bail granted to them is a victory for the ongoing campaign by human rights activists to bring the perpetrators to justice. It was these determined and persistent campaigners who appealed to the Supreme Court to transfer these cases out of Gujarat and sought a fresh investigation.

Ms. Kodnani’s continuation in the Modi’s Ministry for so long was in itself a crying shame, considering that an affidavit filed by the Gujarat Government itself before the High Court in February 2009 had said that “she was a leader of the mob and at the relevant point of time she was an MLA who instigated the mob to commit the crime and, therefore, was in the main role”. Not only that, the affidavit also asserted that “she had fired from her pistol and it has been further revealed that she came in her car and distributed swords to the mob”.

It is the duty of every right-thinking person and organisation to ensure that they cannot short-circuit justice.