Naroda Patia case accused wants action against lawyers

Ahmedabad: After a row over false affidavits in post-Godhra riots cases by NGO Citizens for Justice and Peace, lawyers of Jan Sangharsh Manch, another group fighting for 2002 riot victims, could also face difficulty as a similar complaint has been made in the Bar Council of Gujarat.



An accused in the Naroda Patia case, Premchand Tiwari, has complained that advocates Mukul Sinha, SH Iyer, Amreesh Patel, Shamshadkhan Pathan and MM Tirmizi were responsible for filing a false affidavit without the knowledge of a witness. Tiwari has lodged the complaint before the Bar after a key witness in the Naroda Patia case, Dildar Umrao Saiyed, deposed before the trial court.

According to Tiwari, Saiyed did not mention several points that have been mentioned in his affidavit filed in the Gujarat high court last year, when he was demanding cancellation of anticipatory bail granted to former minister Maya Kodnani and VHP leader Jaideep Patel. In his cross-examination, Dildar revealed how the lawyers helped him in preparing affidavits, but he did not know certain information that was mentioned in the statement.

Tiwari has urged the bar council to initiate action against the lawyers for their alleged misconduct. Sources in the bar council said they lawyers’ body would decide on the issue after Tiwari’s complaint was placed in their general body meeting.

Earlier, CJP secretary Teesta Setalvad, her former employee Rais Khan and advocate Tirmizi were frequently named for allegedly tutoring witnesses while filing of affidavits in the 2002 riots cases. A court hearing Naroda Gam case has even ordered to register a complaint against Khan and his associates for furnishing false evidence.

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