Ignoring calls, Chief Justice shares dais with Modi

Ignoring calls ofshunning a function attended by Narendra Modi, Chief Justice of India K GBalakrishnan on Sunday shared the dais with the Gujarat Chief Minister at aconvocation in Gandhinagar, hours after he was questioned by SpecialInvestigation Team in a 2002 riots case.

Some of the riot victims and kin offormer MP Ehsan Jafri, who was killed in the Gulburg Society riots -- the casein which Modi had been quizzed-- had made an online appeal urging the CJI andJustice A M Ebrahim, former judge of Zimbabwe Supreme Court, not to share thestage with Modi at the first convocation of Gujarat National Law University.

At the function, Balakrishnan sat onthe right side of Modi, while Gujarat High Court Chief Justice S J Mukhopadhyaywas seated on the left of the Chief Minister.

During his address, Justice Ebrahimacknowledged Modi for his statement on Saturday after his questioning by theSupreme Court-appointed SIT that 'no one was above the law'.

Justice Ebrahim said he "verymuch agreed" with the statement of Modi.

The Gujarat Chief Minister, however,did not make any speech during the convocation.

Gujarat Congress too had said that"it would not be proper" for Balakrishnan to share the dais with Modias he had been questioned by the SIT on a complaint by Ehsan's widow ZakiaJafri.

The open letter by Zakia and others had said, "Anassociation of the Chief Justices of India and Zimbabwe with a person who isbeing examined for his role in the killing of innocent people, under thedirectives of the Supreme Court will send out wrong signals and undermine theprocess of justice in Gujarat."