A confidential report analysing the evidence recorded by the SIT about the alleged role of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and others in the killing of Congress MP Ehsan Jafri in Ahmedabad during 2002 riots was today placed before the Supreme Court which reserved its order for passing appropriate directions. "It is an elaborate report. The amicus curaie has tried to cover all aspects. We have read it. We will pass certain directions. We are keeping it confidential," a special Bench comprising justices D K Jain,P Sathasivam and Aftab Alam said. "We will pass order and indicate future course of action," it further said. The bench had sought an "independent overview" of the evidence recorded by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) from senior advocate Raju Ramachandran who is assisting it as an amicus curaie in nine riot cases. It had asked Ramachandran to analyse the report,take comments and statements of the witnesses and,if needed,interact with them to give an "objective" assessment of the evidence. Senior advocate Ranjit Kumar,appearing for Gujarat government,sought a copy of the report for assisting the court saying it was waiting for it as one of the IPS officers has filed an affidavit making allegations against the Chief Minister. The court had on May 5 declined to take on record the affidavit filed by controversial IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt who had accused Modi of having adopted an "anti-minority stance" during the post-Godhra riots. The Bench turned down the plea and said at this stage it was not inclined to share the contents of the report with any of the parties. It also took on record the two reports of April 24 and May 20 filed by the SIT on the progress of the nine cases in which it said trial in all cases were proceeding satisfactorily and are nearing completion except the one relaring to Naroda Patiya. The court,while seeking an independent overview of the evidence recorded by the SIT,had said that if the amicus curaie,on examining them,comes to the conclusion about the culpability of any person in the case he would be at liberty to mention the names in the report. The SIT had placed the report in a sealed cover before the court on April 25. The report was placed in compliance to the March 15 order of the bench which had asked the SIT to further probe the complaint filed by Ehsan Jafri's wife Jakia Ahsan alleging that Modi,top politicians,bureaucrats and police officers had engineered the post-Godhra riots in which her husband was also burnt alive by mobs in Gulbarg Society.
