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India Supreme Court grants bail to 8 life convicts in Godhra train burning case – JURIST

The Supreme Court of India Friday granted bail to eight life convicts in the 2002 Godhra train burning, which led to the death of at least 58 people at the Godhra railway station in Gujarat, India and fueled large-scale riots in the region.In considering whether to grant bail to the eight convicts, the Supreme Court considered the role that the eight convicts played in the crime as well as the fact that all eight had served approximately 18 years of their life sentence. The eight convicts granted bail include Abdul Sattar Ibrahim Gaddi Asla, Yunus Abdul Hakk Samol, Mohammad Hanif Abdulla Moulvi Badam, Abdul Rauf Abdul Majid Isa, Ibrahim Abdulrazak Abdul Sattar Samol, Ayub Abdul Gani Ismail Pataliya, Soheb Yusuf Ahmed Kalandar, and Suleman Ahmad Hussain. The bench refused to consider bail for four other convicts, who were initially sentenced to death but later received life sentences in an appeal to the Gujarat High Court. The bench found that the four convicts had played a greater role in the crime.Although the eight life convicts were granted bail, the Gujarat government was against the granting of bail as it contended that the convicts committed grave offenses and should not be granted leniency. Tushar Mehta, who represented the Gujarat government and opposed the bail application, submitted that the convicts engaged in acts such as locking the door of the train from the outside and purchasing and carrying petrol that was used to burn the coach.In March 2011, a special trial court sentenced 11 suspects to death under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code 1860 for their roles in the Godhra train burning. Another 20 suspects all received life sentences. In 2017, the Gojarat High Court commuted the 11 convicts’ death sentences, replacing them with life sentences. In 2018, the convicts filed an appeal with the Supreme Court, asking that they be granted bail.