High Court defers hearing in Madinabibi case

The Gujarat High Court deferred until March 25 proceedings in the hearing on a show-cause notice issued to 41 accused in the Madina Banu gangrape cum murder case during the post-Godhra communal riots in which seven persons including minor girls were killed.

Most of the 41 accused persons were present in the court of Justice C K Buch when the matter was adjourned after the defence council sought time to read the case papers.

Madinabibi Sheikh, a key eye-witness who survived the onslaught by armed and rioting mobs on March 2, 2002, had filed an application in the high court seeking to know why seven witnesses who had turned hostile could not be recalled for questioning by prosecution.

The court had instructed the 41 accused to file their replies by today.

Justice Buch had also 'relieved' the current public prosecutor of the case in connection with the summons issued to him in the matter after he submitted in his reply that he was not the public prosecutor when the seven witnesses were cross-examined and had turned hostile.

The Gujarat High Court had earlier this month stayed court proceedings of the sensitive case after Madinabibi filed a criminal revision application (CRA) requesting re-examination of the seven witnesses.

In her CRA, the complainant alleged that the former public prosecutor of Panchmahals district Piyush Gandhi had not declared the seven witness who had retracted from their original statement recorded before police, as hostile.

Sheikh had even filed an application with the sessions court in Panchmahals stating several irregularities in the conduct of the case and prayed that the witnesses be re-examined.

The sessions court had rejected her application following which she approached the high court which stayed further proceedings of the case and instructed the public prosecutor to be present on March 8 and explain his position.

According to Madinabibi, on March 2, 2002 an armed mob attacked their Eral village and torched 30 houses forcing them to flee.