TNN

Ahmedabad, Jul 7: A Gujarat high court judge, hearing a case challenging the SIT probe against chief minister Narendra Modi and 62 others in the post-Godhra riots, refused to hear it on Monday.

Withdrawing herself from conducting the case, Justice H N Devani cited personal reasons when she said, "Not before me", as the proceeding began in the high court. The court was expected to hear the case further as officials of SIT, complainant Zakia Jafri and social activist Teesta Setalvad have already filed their replies.

The writ petition was filed on June 5 by former BJP MLA from Lunavada in Panchmahal, Kalu Maliwad, urging the court to stop SIT from interrogating the chief minister and other politicians and bureaucrats on allegations made in Jafri’s complaint of negligence and conspiracy in Gulbarg society massacre and failing to protect citizens in the riots.

The SC had given three months time to SIT to probe into the complaint by Jafri whose husband Ahsan Jafri, an ex-MP from Congress was killed with several others. Maliwad who was acquitted in a riot case in 2002, has claimed that the Supreme Court asked SIT just to "look into" Jafri's complaint, and SIT doesn't draw powers for thorough investigation from any section of CrPC because no FIR was lodged in this regard.