Details sought on Zadafia’s appearance before Gujarat riots panel
By IANSTuesday, November 23, 2010
GANDHINAGAR - The Gujarat High Court Tuesday asked the advocate general to take instructions from the Justices G.T. Nanavati-Akshay Mehta enquiry commission, probing the 2002 riots, on the nature of the impending deposition of former Gujarat minister Gordhan Zadafia.
The bench comprising Chief Justice S.J. Mukhopadhaya and Justice Akil Kureshi sought to know from Advocate General Kamal Trivedi as to whether Zadafia was summoned by the commission as a witness or as a person against whom it had found some material and it wanted to clarify something.
If the former minister was called as witness, then the Jan Sangharsh Manch, an NGO, which is seeking to cross examine Zadafia and others, will have a right of cross examination.
If not then, they will not have a right to cross examine them, the court said.
The commission, probing the 2002 post-Godhra riots, on Nov 19 questioned Zadafia in camera for almost 90 minutes.
The commission has tabled the first part of its report on 2002 riots on the Godhra train burning incident in the state assembly and is now probing various aspects of post-Godhra riots in which more than 1,000 people were killed.
Zadafia was earlier questioned by the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) in connections with the riots.
The matter has been adjourned till Dec 15.
