2002 Gujarat riots: HC upholds acquittal of six men in killing of three Britons

Gujarat High Court upholds acquittal of six men in 2002 British nationals' killing during riots after Godhra train burning.

The Gujarat High Court has upheld a sessions court's order acquitting six men in the killing of three British nationals during the 2002 riots that broke out after the Godhra train burning incident.

A Division Bench of Justices A.Y. Kogje and Samir J. Dave passed the order on March 6 and it was made available recently.

The High Court considered the testimonies of witnesses and the investigating officer, and observed that it did not find any reason to interfere with the judgment and order of acquittal passed by the Principal District and Sessions Judge at Sabarkantha at Himmatnagar on February 27, 2015.

It said the sessions court had considered the evidence and the First Information Report (FIR) before accepting the defence's argument that the description of the accused given by the witness was only about the height, clothes and approximate age.

"Even in the FIR itself, no description of the accused was given. Therefore, the sessions court has rightly concluded that such an identification (dock) cannot be the sole ground to base conviction," the court said.

The conclusion of the FSL (forensic science laboratory) report on each of the accused exonerates them from being the suspects. Also, the launch of investigation was based on an anonymous fax message and not on the basis of the evidence of any independent eyewitness, it said, dismissing the appeal against acquittal by the sessions court at Himmatnagar in Sabarkantha district.

A Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) had prosecuted six individuals — Mithanbhai Chandu alias Prahlad Patel, Ramesh Patel, Manoj Patel, Rajesh Patel and Kalabhai Patel — for the murder of three British citizens visiting India in 2002.