Zakia Jafri, the wife of slain Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, had referred to 13 Indian Penal Code (IPC) offences attributed to the 63 persons, including Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, some of his Cabinet colleagues,
top bureaucrats and police officers for their alleged “different roles” in connection with the post-Godhra riots. Besides, the list at least mentioned the names of more than 20 BJP and Sangh Parivar leaders for registration of the FIR against them.
Prominent among those mentioned in the list were; Mr Modi’s ministers Ashok Bhat and J.K. Jadeja, former chief secretary G. Subba Rao, former home secretary G.C. Murmu, former DGPs K. Chakarvarthi, former Ahmedabad police commissioner P.C. Pandey and the then additional commissioner M.K. Tandon.
However, the Gujarat government in its affidavit filed after the interrogation of Mr Modi had questioned the “judicial mandate” of Raghvan panel to summon the CM and the other 62 persons mentioned by Jafri.
The Modi government had said that the April 27, 2009 order of the apex court on her petition, had never mandated the SIT to summon the 63 persons.
Besides referring to 13 IPC offences in the petition, Ms Jafri had also sought questioning of the top police officers on the bases of their personal and official “telephone records” as well as phone records of the police control room.