Best Bakery verdict likely today

New Delhi: A Mumbai sessions court is expected to deliver verdict in the Best Bakery case on Tuesday.

The verdict would come 18 months after charges were framed in what is described as the worst massacre during the post-Godhara riots of 2002.

The case had become famous after the original complainant - Zaheera Sheikh - began changing her statements frequently.

Two days after the Godhra carnage on February 27, 2002, a mob had attacked Best Bakery in Vadodara's Hanuman Tekri killing fourteen people, including two children. All of them were hacked and burnt alive.

The case shot into prominence after the main complainant Zahira Sheikh - whose uncle, sister and her children were among those killed - started changing her witness statement with each hearing.

Initially, in Vadodara court, after the trial was over and all accused were acquitted, she spoke about how, by issuing threats, she and others were forced to lie in the court.

In May 2003, Zaheera and her mother Sehrunnisa denied knowing the accused. Later in July, 2003, they said the local BJP MLA Madhu Shrivastava had threatened them to change statement.

Zaheera told the National Human Rights Commission under oath that her statements in Vadodara court were not true, only to change her stand once again when the retrial began in the court again.

After the Vadodara court acquitted all the 21 accused in the case, causing a nationwide consternation, NHRC filed a Special Leave Petition in Supreme Court, requesting a retrial outside Gujarat.

The Apex Court - on April 12, 2004 - asked a Mumbai court to conduct the retrial so that the accused were given a fair trial outside Gujarat and the witnesses deposed without any fear.

While ordering retrial, the Apex Court had quashed the lower court order acquitting all the 21 accused.

Four of them were untraceable and 17 were arrested and brought to Mumbai for retrial.

In November, 2004, Zaheera said activist Teesta Setalvad had forced her to name BJP MLA Madhu Shrivastava.