DR. S. AUSAF SAIED VASFI dwells upon the technical and legal facts of Gulberg Society case in the backdrop of Narendra Modi’s assertion ‘God is great’ following the September 12 verdict of the Supreme Court.
As a spontaneous gesture of gratitude to God, the controversial Chief Minister of Gujarat, on September 12, tweeted – ‘God is great’ – after learning about the Supreme Court’s direction to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to file a final report on the investigation with the local Ahmedabad Magistrate.
The premature reaction of the too-ambitious Mr. Narendrabhai Modi, followed by the celebration of the too-daydreaming Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is quite understandable, more so in the backdrop of the too-opportunistic United States’ laudatory report-card of the accused, who was once denied the US visa.
Amidst the rampant confusion over who won and who lost, a few explanatory words about the case’s technical and legal facts would not be out of place.
The Supreme Court is the highest palladium of justice of plural Bharat. Being a Constitutional court, it does not conduct trials. It is not the job of the Apex Court. Unlike the lower courts, headed by the learned Magistrates, ADMs, SDMs or Sessions Judges, it does not hear initial complaints. The cases come to it usually for final arbitration. The best brains on law and its interpretation man the Apex Court. It embodies the majesty of law.
If you ask what is the progress of the case after the latest Apex Court verdict, the answer in one word is: the case has gone from “no FIR to ‘being heard in a criminal court’.” Add to it the remark of Mr. R.K. Raghavan, who earlier was the SIT chief: “I will not allow the victims to be let down.”
Having failed in moving all the possible avenues of justice, Mrs. Zakia Ehsan Jafri, w/o Mr. Ehsan Jafri, who was burnt alive in his house in the Gulberg Society in February 2002, a day after the burning of the Sabarmati Express in Godhra that had killed 59 persons, moved the Supreme Court.
The Director General of Police in 2006 elicited no response. The State High Court dismissed her case in 2007. The SIT report too was found wanting on some significant questions as it did not mention Mr. Modi as an accused.
OPERATIVE PART
Hence the Apex Court order whose operative part is: We are of the opinion that bearing in mind the scheme of Chapter XII of the Cr. P.C., since the investigation has been conducted and completed by the SIT, in terms of the orders passed by this court from time to time, there is no course available in law, save and except to forward the final report under Section 173(2) of the Code to the court empowered to take cognisance of the offence alleged.” Accordingly, “We direct the chairman SIT to forward a final report along with the entire material collected by the SIT, to the court which had taken cognisance of crime report No. 67 of 2002, as required under Section 173(2) of the Code. Before submission of its report, it will be open to the SIT to obtain from the amicus curiae copies of his report submitted to this court.”
The Magistrate would now charge and refer it to the Sessions. It is the legal process and a necessity.
LAUDATORY REPORT-CARD
As regards the laudatory report-card of the once genocide accused, it has to be, in the very beginning, pointed out that the said report card has not been authored by the 435-member representative body of the House nor the 100-member Senate. How brilliant are the authors can be understood from the fact they either ignored or forgot to refer to the remark of the Indian Supreme Court describing Mr. Modi as a modern Nero. It has been prepared by the intellectuals belonging to the Congress and Research Service (CRS). It is not the voice of the bicameral US Congress of the Federal Government.
Let the admirers of Mr. Modi also remember that the report does not reflect the view of the Capitol Hill. It is for domestic consumption. The document being used by the BJP – to the utter chagrin of Mr. L.K. Advani – is based upon the public reports and books. It is not an official assessment. It is meant to enhance the knowledge of the staff working for the system. It is periodically updated as it is a base paper. It does not deal with the ‘hot button’. Think tanks, libraries and interactions help in the preparation of the 84-page report.
The document however does not overlook the anti-Muslim 2002 massacre of Gujarat. To quote the report: He (Modi) continues to be haunted by the 2002 Ahmedabad riots, a topic he never refers to while addressing the public.
TROPHY-LIKE USE OF THE REPORT
The trophy-like use of the report as well as the SC verdict is not being seen in proper perspective by the Saffron. Mr. L.K. Advani has undertaken his yatra for the post of the Prime Minister. Then there are Mr. Arun Jaitely and Mrs. Sushma Swaraj also. Their public posture apart, none of them would feel enthusiastic about his Prime Ministership. Secondly, what would be the allies’ position in the next general elections in 2014 is not clear in the given situation. There are persons like Mr. Nitish Kumar who did not allow Mr. Modi to visit Bihar for electioneering. Add to it the attitude of the parties of the South. Thirdly, the Muslim minority, which plays a significant role in the elections, would be the last segment of our secular fabric to opt for Modi as Prime Minister. He is only a Hindi-cow-belt phenomenon.
The Muslim leadership is torn between pessimism and optimism. Nothing definite can be said on the issue although optimism appears to overtake pessimism simply because, to quote Mr. Narendra Modi, “God is great” with a footnote from the victims that although He grinds slowly but surely.
Whatever be the final verdict of the Apex Court in future, to quote Shakespeare: ‘Seven oceans of Arabia cannot wash’ Mr. Modi’s Muslim blood-stained hands. The experience is that sometimes a criminal does not necessarily face justice. History has recorded this bitter fact umpteen times. The court may set him free for want of ‘concrete evidence’ but he cannot erase off his misdoings from the psyche of India. Godhra and Gulberg Society will continue to haunt him till death. The too-talked-about development of Gujarat is incapable of his image makeover. His latest talk of harmony coupled with 3-day ‘fast for peace and harmony’ and all that will not help him. So feel the observers who find lack of credibility in him.