Plea to allow probe into 'fake' Gujarat riot affidavits

New Delhi, March 5 (IANS) Rais Khan Aziz Khan Pathan, a former aide of activist Teesta Setalvad, Tuesday moved the Supreme Court seeking the lifting of curbs on the probe into the latter's alleged role in doctoring affidavits of Gujarat riot-victims.

He sought the vacation of Sep 2, 2011 stay imposed by the apex court on the investigation that were ordered by an Ahmedabad magistrate Jan 10, 2011 in the wake of the allegation that Setalvad doctored the riot victims' affidavits.

Pathan, who earlier worked as field coordinator with NGO Citizen's Justice and Peace headed by Setalvad, said he was "privy to the manner in which the affidavits of witnesses were made and filed by her in various courts, for and on behalf of the riot victims".

He said he approached the trial court and "spoke the truth".

It was on "account of speaking against her, he is now being considered as an anti- Muslim, working against the community and regularly getting threats to his life", he said.

The application by Khan said that "it is a very well settled law as laid down by court (apex court) that except in rarest of rare case and unforeseen circumstances, an investigation which is being carried out in the light of court direction should not be interfered with or curtailed".

He said that the instant case was not of such nature where interference was required by the apex court particularly when Setalvad was not named as an accused till date and "only on the basis of pre-emption, she has no locus standi to challenge the order passed by the courts below".

The application said that because of the stay by the apex court, the investigation was not progressing.

It expressed the apprehension of the "possibility of destruction of relevant materials/evidence related to the present case and the undue influence/inducement/ threat to the material witnesses of the present case may not be ruled out".

Pressing for the vacation of stay by the apex court, Pathan said that he had come forward to "tell the truth and voluntarily decided to join the investigation to unearth the larger conspiracy and hidden truth behind the present case".