The Gujarat High Court on March 5 admitted a petition filed by seven eyewitnesses and victims of the 2002 Gulbarg Society massacre, to transfer the case from the Special Trial Court of Sessions Judge B.U. Joshi. Earlier, Principal Sessions Judge G.B. Shah had rejected their petition in January on the ground that the Sessions court did not have jurisdiction over it. The petitioners stated that the behaviour of the judge was biased and it seemed he had pre-judged the authenticity of the witnesses’ statements. They further alleged that they had no hope of getting justice in Joshi’s court.
On the other hand the special public prosecutors appointed by Special Investigation Team (SIT) in the Gulbarg Society massacre case, R.K. Shah and his assistant Naina Bhatt have resigned from the case ostensibly after being frustrated with SIT’s behaviour and dissatisfaction over court proceedings. The Gulbarg case has witnessed many ups and downs since the trial began in the last couple of months, the last being the witnesses seeking removal of the special judge B.U. Joshi.