Supreme Court grants bail to 4 in Naroda Patiya case, says convictions debatable

New Delhi: Four convicts in Naroda Patiya case of 2002 in which 97 people were killed during riots in Gujarat has been granted bail by the Supreme Court. The killings in the Ahmedabad locality was one of the worst attacks of the 2002 post-Godhra riots.

Justice AM Khanwilkar who was heading a Supreme Court bench granted bail on the ground that the High Court verdict of conviction was “debatable” and that they should be released on bail since their appeal hearing would take time.

Last year Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi and others were convicted by the Gujarat High Court but acquitted former BJP minister Maya Kodnani for want of evidence in the case.

Umeshbhai Bharwad, Rajkumar, Harshad and Prakashbhai Rathod are among those who were granted bail by the top court on Tuesday. One convict was granted temporary bail for his daughter’s wedding.

On February 28 that year, 97 people from the Muslim community — mostly migrants from Karnataka and Maharashtra — were killed by a mob. The locality with nearly 800 houses was set on fire.