New Delhi, Dec 7 (IANS) The Supreme Court Monday rebuked a rights body for using objectionable language in its plea for reconstitution of the Special Investigation Team (SIT), formed last year to probe and prosecute nine crucial cases related to the 2002 communal violence in Gujarat.
A bench of Justice D.K. Jain, Justice P. Sathasivam and Justice Aftab Alam rebuked the Citizens for Justice and Peace and its counsel Aparna Bhat for telling the court that the SIT was “befooling the court” by not probing the cases in a particular manner.

The bench took objection to the language in an affidavit filed by social worker Teesta Setalvad on behalf of CJP, after the Gujarat government counsel Mukul Rohatgi drew the court’s attention to the plea, which said “the SIT has a blatant desire to befool the court”.

Taking objection, the bench observed that the SIT was constituted on its order and the civil society’s plea amounted to saying that the apex court was so dumb that it could be fooled.

The bench rebuked Bhat: “Aparna, you have to be very careful in the matter.”

“Yes, Sir, I’m sorry,” Bhat apologised.

The bench also asked the counsel to expunge all such remarks that might sound objectionable to the court or may appear foul to it.

In its report, submitted to the court earlier in a sealed cover, the SIT headed by former Central Bureau of Investigation director R.K. Raghavan told the court that the trial court has already begun trial in five riot cases probed by it.

It said in two other cases, the trial court was all set to frame the charges while two other cases were reaching the stage of framing of charges.

The SIT was formed by the apex court March 26 last year and was asked to probe nine specific post-Godhra riots cases, including of rape, murder and arson at Ahmedabad and elsewhere.

The bench formed the SIT while hearing the petitions by the National Human Rights Commission and others.