The Gujarat High Court today mostly upheld the convictions of 31 people and the acquittals of 63 others in the Godhra Sabarmati Express burning case, with one big change. The death sentences handed to 11 of the 31 convicts, were commuted to rigorous life imprisonment by the Gujarat High Court, which was hearing a bunch of appeals in the Godhra train carnage case. Punishments of the remaining 20 convicts, who were handed life in prison, remains unchanged. The Gujarat government’s appeal challenging the acquittals of 63 people accused in the conspiracy to burn coach S6 of the Sabarmati Express was rejected. In its order, the high court pulled up both the Gujarat government and the Indian Railways for failing to maintain law and order. Readers should note that the high court’s observation is in relation to the burning of coach S6 of the Sabarmati Express in Godhra and not the state-wide riots that followed the carnage. The high court’s order came in appeals that challenged the convictions and acquittals handed out by a special SIT court in March 2011.
