The court however acquitted 63 others who had been accused in this case. Quantum of punishment will be announced on February 25.
Court pronounced judgment on the role of over 90 people accused of conspiring and torching the S-6 coach of the Sabarmati Express on February 27, 2002. Fifty-nine people, mostly Kar Sewaks returning from Ayodhya, were killed in the incident.
Interestingly among the 63 people acquitted in the today verdict is Maulvi Umarji, who was one of the main accused in the attack on the Sabarmati Express.
A team appointed by the government to investigate the riots said the Godhra tragedy was not a spontaneous riot, but a pre-planned conspiracy.
The Special Investigation Team said that a cleric named Maulvi Umarji had ordered four of his lieutenants to lead a mob with more than a hundred liters of fuel to target the kar sewaks.
Accusations of biased investigations prompted the Supreme Court to set up another committee to investigate the Godhra tragedy.
Headed by R K Raghavan, this Special Investigation Committee also agreed with the earlier findings on Maulvi Umarji. However, the court today said that there is no evidence to prove this.
Meanwhile BJP has welcomed the Gujrat High court’s verdict on Godhra issue. Speaking to reporters outside Parliament, party spokesperson Tarun Vijay said it has exposed the nefarious desires of the UPA government that had tried to put the blame on the victims.