2002 Godhra Train Arson: SC Grants Bail to 8 Convicts

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to eight convicts in the 2002 Godhra train burning case. But the apex court rejected the bail plea of four other convicts.

A Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of DY Chandrachud granted bail to the eight convicts on the grounds that they have spent over 17 years in jail. But the Supreme Court, on Monday, dismissed the bail application of those convicts who were awarded death sentence by the trial Court, which was later commuted to life imprisonment by the Gujarat High Court.

The eight convicts who got the bail are serving life imprisonment and their sentences were upheld by the High Court order.

While 11 convicts of this case were sentenced to death, 20 others were awarded life imprisonment by the trial court. At least 58 people lost their lives when some coaches of Sabarmati Express were burnt at the Godhra Railway Station in Gujarat on February 27, 2002. The incident triggered large-scale riots in Gujarat.

In 2011, a local court convicted 31 accused and acquitted 63 people in this case. Eleven accused were sentenced to death and 20 were awarded life imprisonment by the trial court. Later Gujarat High Court upheld the trial court decision to convict the 31 accused. But the High Court commuted the death sentence of the 11 to life imprisonment.

All these convicts moved the Supreme Court challenging the Gujarat High Court order. Their appeal is pending in the Supreme Court since 2018.