SALIMBHAI VAFATI Vs. BRIJESH BHARATKUMAR PATEL AND ORS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE present petition has arisen out of judgment and order of acquittal recorded by the learned Additional City Sessions Judge, City Civil Court No.4, Ahmedabad in Sessions Case No.228 of 2002 dated 26/12/2002, acquitting the respondent No.1 herein original accused, who was allegedly, a constituent of a mob, which, according to the petitioner, as well as the prosecution had resorted to a communal riot after infamous Godhra incident.

(2.) AS per the prosecution case, respondent No.1 was inquiring about the persons belonging to Muslim community. He inquired from PW No.1 Dipteshkumar @ Dipakkumar Rameshkumar and PW No.2 Salimbhai Bafatibhai and thereafter when the deceased arrived at the spot, he disclosed that he was from the Muslim community and then he was done to death. It was also the prosecution case that this was followed by a mob comprising of about 700 to 800 people.

(3.) ULTIMATELY , on appreciation of evidence produced by the prosecution amongst which two eye -witnesses were declared hostile as also other Panch Witnesses, the learned trial Judge acquitted the respondent No.1 for lack of evidence. It is however noticed from the record that before acquitting the respondent No.1 original accused, the prosecution, by way of an application at Exh.30, applied for examination of the Investigating Officer, who according to the learned Additional Sessions Judge, was the main Investigating Officer. The learned Sessions Judge, however, deemed it fit to reject the said application on the ground that no useful purpose would be going served as other witnesses have not supported the prosecution case.