Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court on Friday declined to stay the fresh probe by the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) or any other process against Chief Minister Narendra Modi and 62 others in connection with the post-Godhra riots cases in 2002.
The court also issued notices to the state government and SIT members on a petition challenging the probe being carried out by the team.
The petition filed by former BJP MLA from Lunavada, Kalubai Hirabhai Malivad, one of them named in the complaint, appealed to the court to stay the investigations in the case and restrain SIT from arresting persons named in the complaint including Modi.
The complaint was made by Zakia Jaffrey, whose husband ex-MP Ehsan Jaffrey was killed during the 2002 riots in Gulburg society along with 39 others.
Justice R H Shukla hearing the case refused to grant interim relief in the form of staying the investigation and any other process against Modi and others.
The Supreme Court had recently ordered the SIT to probe within three months a complaint by Zakia that Modi, his cabinet colleagues, police officials and senior bureaucrats aided and abetted post-Godhra riots of 2002.
Raising legal question on the investigation being carried out by SIT in Zakia's complaint, Malivad's counsel S B Vakil contended that the Apex court has asked SIT to "look into" the complaint, and this doesn't empower it to investigate the case as per provisions of CrPC, as there is no FIR registered in this case.