Jabalpur/Indore, Feb 12 (IANS) Seven convicts of the Godhra carnage of Gujarat have reached Jabalpur on Wednesday under the order of the Supreme Court for social service.
The Supreme Court has granted bail to 17 convicts serving life imprisonment in a rioting case in Gujarat after the 2002 Godhra riots on the condition that they live in two cities (Indore and Jabalpur) of Madhya Pradesh and serve the community. The other 10 have already reached Indore on Monday, but their identity has not been revealed after they were ill-treated by some people.
The seven convicts who reached Jabalpur have reported in the Civil Lines Police Station. They are ordered to serve for 6 hours a week. The court ordered a group of six convicts to serve in Indore, while the other one stayed back in Jabalpur to do community service. The Supreme Court had asked the Legal Services Authorities of both districts to help them to get proper employment. District Legal Services Authority is working in this direction.
Thirty-three persons were burnt alive during the Godhra carnage. A bench of Chief Justice S.A. Bobde, Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice Suryakant had divided the 15 convicts in the case into two groups. Under the terms of the bail, these convicts will stay out of Gujarat and they will have to do community service in two cities of Madhya Pradesh. All these convicts will have to report to the police stations regularly.
The Supreme Court said in its order that those guilty will not live together in Indore or Jabalpur. They will have to submit certificates about their community services to the concerned District Legal Services Authority. The bench also directed the Madhya Pradesh State Legal Services Authority to submit its report after three months to confirm if they have complied with the conditions of bail.
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