Gujarat HC: SIT opposes Maya Kodnani's plea to summon Amit Shah

Ahmedabad: The SIT on Monday opposed former state minister Maya Kodnani's plea to the Gujarat High Court to summon BJP president Amit Shah to prove her alibi in the 2002 Naroda Patiya riots case, in which she has been sentenced.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) opposed Kodnani's plea to the bench of justices Harsha Devani and A S Supehiya contending that the plea, made at a belated stage, was not legally tenable and cannot be permitted.

Kodnani, who has challenged her conviction and 28-year jail term in the Naroda Patiya riots case before the high court, has made the plea to summon Shah and seven others as additional witnesses to prove her alibi of being elsewhere and not being involved in the offence.

She made the plea to the high court after a special SIT court hearing another 2002 riots case of Naroda Gam in which too she is an accused, recently allowed her to call 14 witnesses, including BJP president Amit Shah.

The SIT had not opposed Kodnani's plea in the Naroda Gam riots case before the trial court. But, opposing her plea to high court in the Naroda Patiya riots case, the SIT argued that it is not obligatory for the prosecution to call all the witnesses cited in the chargesheet.

In her plea to the high court, Kodnani has said the prosecution dropped Shah and seven other important witnesses without any reasonable ground.

Seven others who Kodnani wants to be summoned as additional witnesses includes former BJP MLA Amrish Patel, Jagdish Patel, Lakhabhai case Rathod, Dhaval Shah, Dhiraj Rathod, Kantibhai Solanki and M D Lakhiya.

The court will hear detailed arguments tomorrow from both the sides.

The high court is hearing appeals by Kodnani and other convicts in Naroda Patiya massacre in which 96 persons were killed.