The prosecution is likely to seek capital punishment for the 11 convicted who were charged with murder, while the lawyer of victims may seek life imprisonment for them.
The Gujarat high court had on April 20 last year upheld the conviction of 12 out of the 29 accused who were pronounced guilty on various charges by the trial court and had acquitted 17 others, including former BJP minister Maya Kodnani.
Former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri and 68 others were killed in the incident during 2002 post-Godhra riots in Gujarat.
The three of the total 16 accused were held guilty in an order pronounced on April 20.
The high court also upheld the trial court order convicting two on charges of murder and acquitted another accused Devabhai Samatbhai Bharwad.
The Nanavati Commission, which was appointed in 2002, after five years observed that police at some places were ineffective in controlling the mob and said the post-Godhra riots that spread out in the state were "not a pre-planned conspiracy or orchestrated violence.
She said she has not yet thought about joining active politics, but will continue to remain a Bharatiya Janata Party worker.
Zakia, the wife of Ehsan Jafri, an ex-MP who was killed in one of the worst incidents during the riots, has challenged the Gujarat high court's October 5, 2017 order rejecting her plea against the SIT's decision.
The Gujarat high court on Tuesday granted bail to three people who were sentenced to life imprisonment in the 2002 Godhra train burning case which had triggered communal riots in the state.
Kailash Dhobi is one of 11 persons convicted for murder and other offences, and is listed as accused number 1 by the SIT in the Gulberg society case in which 69 persons, including former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, were killed.
A bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar and Deepak Gupta said the matter will be heard on November 19, as the court has not gone through the petition in detail.
The high court upheld conviction of 13 people including Bajrangi, and convicted another three for the first time, while acquitting 18 of the 32 people convicted by the trial court in 2012.
To promote Advani as a moderate is as much a travesty of truth as to present the children of Godse as followers of Gandhi, feels Poornima Joshi
The court had concluded the arguments on quantum of sentence on Friday last week after taking into consideration submissions made by both the prosecution and defence lawyers as well as the lawyer of the victims.
'Modi took to the dais and said he would like to step down as chief minister over the riots.' 'Immediately, people from several sides got up and said there was no need to do so.' 'Whether it was orchestrated or not, Shourie wasn't sure.' 'But, according to him, Vajpayee felt that it was a coup.'
Leader of the Opposition in the Gujarat assembly, Shankarsinh Waghela on Wednesday asked Prime Minister elect Narendra Modi to build a Ram temple at Ayodhya within the constitutional framework now that the Bharatiya Janata Party has got an absolute majority, in a speech that was blended with sarcasm and praise.
Social activist Teesta Setalvad, who has been fighting for the victims of Gulberg Society, said they will study the judgement in depth and appeal in a higher court.
'Mobs are entering north Indian homes and threatening families to leave Gujarat or face consequences.'
On Monday, prosecution had sought death penalty for all the 24 people convicted for the gruesome killings.
'One can understand this prejudice in the minds of policemen against Muslims, without accepting it. But what tilts the balance disproportionately is the police's blind eye to offences committed in the name of the majority.' says Jyoti Punwani.
It is Gujarat that is preventing Modi from becoming a pan-India leader. Gujarat wants Modi to be an all-India leader only on its term: As a strong votary of Hindutva. But that very position is a recipe for disaster on the national stage, feels Amberish K Diwanji.
His action after the Godhra train violence doesn't support the picture of an effective and no-nonsense deliverer of good governance, says Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay
The court said it has decided to award imprisonment for life without any time frame to the 11, who have been convicted for murder, while requesting the state not to use its power to remit the sentence after 14 years of imprisonment.
Of the 24 convicted, 11 have been convicted for murder and 13 for other charges.
'The cow is sacred to many of us, but these killings are definitely not part of the Hinduism we know and practise,' says Jyoti Punwani.
Will the political heat amid this election season draw a wedge between two dear friends?
Dharmendra Kumar Singh explains the four major factors that contributed to Modi's win in the 2014 elections.
The decision of the Union Cabinet based on the Group of Ministers recommendations only creates an illusion by removing the political executive and creating a proxy institution instead, says Arun Jaitley
The decision of the Union Cabinet based on the Group of Ministers recommendations only creates an illusion by removing the political executive and creating a proxy institution instead, says Arun Jaitley
'I don't think there is a need to order a fresh investigation into the complaint against Modi & Co. As the amicus curiae Raju Ramachandran said in his report to the Supreme Court, the existing material is more than sufficient to prosecute Modi and other high-ups of his regime,' Manoj Mitta, author of the book The Fiction Of Fact-Finding: Modi and Godhra tells Rediff.com's Prasanna D Zore.
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