Will seek death penalty for 11 Godhra train burning convicts: Gujarat tells SC

The Gujarat government on Monday contended before the Supreme Court that it would seek the death penalty for 11 convicts in the 2002 Godhra train burning case, as it was a “rarest of the rare and grave offence”.

Opposing the bail plea by some of the convicts, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Gujarat government, submitted before a bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud that the state is seriously pressing for the death penalty for the convicts, which the Gujarat High Court commuted to life imprisonment.

“This is the rarest of rare cases where 59 people, including women and children, were burnt alive,” he said, maintaining that it is consistent everywhere that the bogey was locked from outside and 59 people including women and children had died.

In February 2002, 59 people were killed when a train coach was burnt at Gujarat’s Godhra, triggering riots in the state. The bench, also comprising Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala asked if the convicts would be entitled to premature release as per the Gujarat government policy.

Mehta said not in this case, as TADA was invoked. He also said this was the “rarest of rare case”. Mehta appeared for the state along with advocate Swati Ghildiyal.

The SC asked counsel for both sides to submit a consolidated chart giving details such as actual sentences awarded to the convicts and the period spent in jail till now. After hearing arguments, the bench fixed the bail pleas of several accused in the case for hearing after three weeks.

During the hearing, Mehta informed the bench that 11 convicts were sentenced to death by the trial court and 20 others were granted life term in the case. He further added that the HC upheld total 31 convictions in the case and commuted the death penalties of the 11 convicts to life term.

The Gujarat government had moved the SC challenging the commutation of the death penalty into life imprisonment for 11 convicts. The court was informed that several accused in the matter have challenged the HC order upholding their convictions in the case.