The shortcomings of India’s criminal justice system extend far beyond Uttar Pradesh. Just last month, the 69 defendants accused of perpetrating the 2002 Naroda Gam massacre in Ahmedabad were all acquitted.
The Supreme Court-appointed SIT had investigated the case, in which former minister Maya Kodnani, former Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi and former VHP leader Jaydeep Patel among others had been accused, as part of the nine major riot cases of 2002 that were being monitored by it.
A court recently acquitted 67 accused, including former Gujarat minister Maya Kodnani, more than two decades after 11 Muslims were killed during post-Godhra riots in Naroda Gam area.
Call it Mandal 2.0, its potential to influence national political imagination should not be underestimated. Especially if the Opposition can link it to economic opportunities