More than 14 years after the Gulbarg Housing Society massacre took place during the 2002 Gujarat riots, the case is likely to see a verdict. A special court will pronounce on June 2 its order in the case in which former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri and 68 others were killed in the post-Godhra riots.
The trial in the case concluded on September 22, 2015. The Supreme Court had earlier directed the special court to pronounce the judgement by May 31 after the trial concluded.
Special judge PB Desai on May 25 issued notices to the prosecution and defence lawyers to remain present on June 2 when the judgement is likely to be pronounced.
"The judge ordered the clerk to issue notice to all advocates concerned to remain present in the court on June 2 when the judgement will be pronounced," said lawyer SM Vora who appeared for the riots victims.
The riots victims' lawyer had argued during the trial that the massacre was a pre-planned criminal conspiracy hatched by the accused to kill residents of the Gulbarg society.
The defence lawyers had refuted the conspiracy theory of the prosecution and claimed that the mob resorted to violence only after Jafri had fired several rounds at them.
Defence lawyer Abhay Bhardwaj added that a mob of 1,500 had gathered on its own and not as a pre-planned conspiracy. No less than 338 witnesses have testified during the trial of the case, which ran for over six years.
The Gulbarg Society case is one of the nine cases of the 2002 Gujarat riots probed by the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT). There are 66 accused named by SIT in this case of whom nine are behind bars for 14 years while others are out on bail.
In the incident that had taken place at the Gulbarg Society on February 28, 2002, 69 persons had been killed.
The incident had taken place a day after S-6 coach of Sabarmati Express train was burnt near Godhra railway station in which 58 'karsevaks' from Ayodhya were killed.
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