SC transfers Godhra case from POTA court to sessions court

The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Special POTA court in Gujarat to transfer within a month cases against 85 accused in the Godhra train carnage to a sessions court in Godhra. The Review Committee had earlier recommended dropping of POTA charges against the accused. The sessions court will now take cognizance of the charges under various provisons of the IPC since the review panel had recommended that charges against the accused under the POTA be dropped. The apex court passed the direction on a batch of petitions filed by the accused in the wake of the recent Supreme Court judgement, that the findings of the POTA Review Committee to drop the charges under the repealed anti-terror law would be binding on the government and the designated court. The POTA Review Committee had earlier dropped the charges against the petitoners who number over 90 arrested under the anti-terror Act. As the POTA cases stand dropped against the accused, they would now stand trial under IPC offences before the sessions court, Godhra which will also consider their bail applications. A three judge bench of Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justices R V Raveendran and Dalveer Bhandari while transferring the case to the sessions court said the latter would be uninfluenced by the observations made by the apex court or any other court in matter relating to the Godhra incidents. On 21st October, the Gujarat Government suffered a setback in the Godhra train carnage case after the apex court held that the findings of the POTA Review Committee to drop the charges under the repealed anti-terror law would be binding on the government and the designated court. The apex court passed the verdict on a bunch of petitions filed by family members of victims and Godhra case accused in which the Gujarat government had supported the stand of the victims that review committee's finding automatically did not lead to the withdrawal of a case under POTA. "If the Review Committee expressed the opinion that there is no prima facie case for proceeding against accused, then the cases pending in court, even where cognizance have been taken by the court, shall be deemed to have been withdrawn with effect from the date of the issuance of direction by such committee," the apex court had held. The apex court had also said that on receiving the opinion against prosecuting the accused under POTA, it would not be obligatory for the Public Prosecutor to file an application under the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) for formal withdrawal of offences under the anti-terror law. However, the Supreme Court allayed the fear that there was no remedy if the Committee reaches a wrong opinion by saying that "the opinion of the Committee is open to judicial review under section 226 of the Constitution (before the High Court".

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