A Metropolitan Court in Ahmedabad has, after a span of seven years, issued a notice to one Noormohammed Shaikh from Ahmedabad to record his statement in connection with the complaint he had lodged against Chief Minister Narendra Modi and the then VHP Joint General Secretary, Kaushik Mehta, in April 2002 for allegedly giving and supporting the ‘bandh’ call on February 28, 2002.

Citing a verdict by the Supreme Court of India, which called ‘bandh’ calls as ‘unconstitutional’ and ‘illegal’, Shaikh had demanded punitive steps against the then VHP Joint General Secretary who had given the ‘bandh’ call and against Chief Minister Modi who allegedly supported the call following the incident of Godhra Train Carnage on February 27, 2002.

Shaikh, a resident of Dhalgarwad in Dariapur area, had in April 2002 submitted a written complaint against Mehta and Modi in this regard. Though, when police did not take any steps on his application, Shaikh lodged a court complaint in June 2002.

In the cited verdict pronounced by a bench of the Supreme Court of India, the then Chief Justice J S Verma and the then Justices B N Kirpal and V N Khare had considered all the calls of ‘bandhs’ as ‘illegal’ and ‘unconstitutional’ while upholding a judgment of the Full Bench of Kerala High Court.

Shaikh had demanded punitive steps against Modi alleging that the government openly supported the bandh call and did not take steps against the VHP office bearers for giving the ‘bandh’ call. Shaikh has even claimed that the ‘bandh’ call was responsible for all the loss of life and property during the riots that broke out following it.

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