SC grants bail to convict Farook in Godhra’s Sabarmati Express train burning case
Farook was one among several persons who pelted stones on burning train bringing pigrims from Ayodhya afer Ram Lalla darshan
New Delhi: Supreme Court on Thursday granted bail to a convict named Farook, sentenced to life imprisonment in the Godhra carnage case, after noting the fact that he has undergone 17 years sentence and that his role was of stone-pelting at the train incident.
“We will grant him (Farook) bail, as he has already undergone 17 years of his jail sentence,” the Bench of the Supreme Court led by the Chief Justice Dr DY Chandrachud, said, in his order.
Farook was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in pelting stone at the burning Sabarmati Express at Godhra in 2002, in S-6 Coach.
While granting bail to Farook, the CJI Chandrachud said, “It has been 17 long years. His appeal against the conviction is pending before the top court.”
On May 13, 2022, the Apex Court, in the same case, had granted interim bail to another convict, Abdul Raheman Dhantiya, alias Kankatto and also called as Jamburo, for six months on the ground that his wife was suffering from terminal cancer and that his daughters were mentally challenged. On November 11, 2022, the Top Court extended his bail till March 31, 2023.
It is to be noted that on February 27, 2002, 59 people were killed when the S-6 coach of Sabarmati Express was burnt at Godhra, triggering a massive riot in the state of Gujarat.
The Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, senior law officer appearing for the state of Gujarat, opposed granting bail to Farook, on the ground that he and other convicts in the case, threw stones on the Sabarmati Express train which prevented people from escaping the burning coach.
“It is not a case of mere stone pelting,” Mehta told the bench, and sought that the convicts, including Farook should not be granted bail for their role in the case.
In its October 2017 judgement, the Gujarat High Court had commuted to life imprisonment the death sentence awarded to 11 convicts in the Godhra train burning case. It had upheld the life sentence awarded to 20 other convicts in the case. (UNI)
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