After nearly nine years, verdict on the controversial Godhra train carnage case, in which 58 Karsevaks were charred to death near Godhra railway station on February 27, 2002, is expected to be delivered on February 19 by a special trial court.
The train burning incident had triggered the worst communal riots in Gujarat in which around 1,500 people were killed by the rioters belonging to the outfits like VHP and Bajarang Dal.
The riots had spread in over a dozen districts and had lasted a few months when the state government authorities had turned a blind eye to those indulging in the riots.
The state government’s alleged inaction had forced the then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to chide the chief minister Narendra Modi to perform his raj dharma.
Designated judge P.R. Patel, who completed hearing the arguments of the prosecution and the defence in September 2010, will pronounce the judgment on the sensitive case on February 19, special public prosecutor in the case J.M. Panchal said.
The trial in the case began inside the Sabarmati jail in June 2009 with framing of the charges against the 94 accused who have been in the jail since 2002.