The Supreme Court has set a date for the final hearing of the appeals related to the 2002 Godhra train burning case on February 13. The appeals were filed by the Gujarat government and several of the convicts involved in the incident.
A bench consisting of Justices JK Maheshwari and Aravind Kumar confirmed that no adjournments would be allowed during the upcoming hearing.
During the proceedings, the court instructed the parties involved to translate the court records, which are currently in Gujarati, into English. The records will also be digitised to ensure they are accessible to all parties involved in the case.
This case revolves around the tragic incident of February 27, 2002, when a coach of the Sabarmati Express was set on fire, leading to the deaths of 59 people. The incident triggered widespread riots across Gujarat.
In March 2011, the trial court convicted 31 individuals, with 20 of them being sentenced to life imprisonment, and 11 others were sentenced to death. However, the Gujarat High Court upheld the convictions in October 2017, while commuting the death sentences of the 11 individuals to life imprisonment.
The Gujarat government has appealed to the Supreme Court, seeking to reinstate the death penalties for the 11 convicts whose sentences were reduced. In addition, the convicts themselves filed appeals against their convictions, challenging the decisions made by both the trial court and the High Court.
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