NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday deferred till November 26 the hearing on the plea of Zakia Jafri challenging the clean chit given by the Special Investigating Team (SIT) to Narendra Modi, who was then Gujarat chief minister, in connection with the 2002 post-Godhra riots. Zakia, the wife of Ehsan Jafri, an ex-MP who was killed during the riots, has challenged the Gujarat High Court’s order of October 5, 2017, rejecting her plea against the SIT’s decision.
A bench headed by Justice A M Khanwilkar said, “The matter will take some time for the hearing. The plea will be heard on November 26”. During a brief hearing, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi appearing for the SIT said, “Zakia’s plea is not maintainable and social activist Teesta Setalvad cannot be the second petitioner in the case.”
The bench said it will look into the application before hearing the matter on making Setalvad the second petitioner in Jafri’s plea.