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The Best Bakery case is the name used to refer to a case involving an incident which occurred on March 1, 2002, at a bakery (called Best Bakery) in Vadodara, India during the 2002 Gujarat violence in which 14 people were murdered, many of them burned to death.
Media glare
The case came into prominence after all the 21 accused were initially acquitted on June 27, 2003 by a "fast-track court" for lack of evidence after 37 out of the 73 witnesses, including key witness Zaheera Sheikh turned hostile. The judgement said "It was proved beyond doubt that a violent mob had attacked the bakery and killed 12 persons. However, there was no legally acceptable evidence to prove that any of the accused presented before the court had committed the crime." The judgement was critical of the police for delay in registering FIR and for not investigating the incident properly and harassing innocent people. It was reported that key witnesses in the case had lied in court out of fear for their lives as they had been given death threats. Key witnesses in the case include the wife and daughter of the bakery owner. According to their testimony to the police and the National Human Rights Commission, 500 people armed with petrol bombs had attacked the bakery. They also accused Bharatiya Janata Party and other party politicians of threatening and harassing them into withdrawing their testimony.
Gujarat Government tries to correct mistakes
Later in September, the Gujarat government filed an amended appeal in the Gujarat high court seeking retrial of the case. The appeal was admitted by the Gujarat high court. In October, after being indicted by the Supreme Court of India, the police registered a case against Bharatiya Janata Party legislator for intimidating the witnesses of the incident. In December, the Government of Gujarat admitted there were lapses on the part of the police in registering and recording the FIR in the case and on the part of the prosecution in recording the evidence of witnesses. It said the police had attempted to help the accused by not submitting names of the accused.
In November 2004, Zaheera Sheikh retracted her statement again. She stated that the judgment passed by the Gujarat court was correct. She also stated that she had never met the above mentioned legislator. She claims that she made all the statements under the pressure of NGO activist Teesta Setalvad.
Zaheera's flipflops
In December 2004, the prosecution declared Zaheera Sheikh to be a hostile witness. She became the 7th witness to turn hostile in the case after her mother, sister, brothers and another two witnesses. During examination, she said that her maternal uncle Quaser was not present in the bakery when it was set on fire going against the statement she had given to the police earlier. She even claimed that she had signed the FIR without knowing its contents. A tape by Tehelka claimed that Zaheera had been bribed by a BJP MLA. On December 24, 2004, Zaheera was ousted from the Muslim community on the grounds that she was lying constantly. This decision was with consent from the All India Muslim Personal Law Board. *
On August 3, 2005, Zaheera Sheikh testified to Nanavati Commission, accusing Teesta Setalvad of keeping Zaheera in confinement and provoking her to name innocent persons as accused in the case.
On February 24, 2006, the Mumbai retrial found nine of the defendants guilty and sentenced them to life imprisonment, while another eight were acquitted. The court also issued show-cause orders to Zaheera Sheikh and other witnesses who recanted their testimony to show why they should not be prosecuted for perjury. On March 29, 2006, a court ordered Zahira to undergo her one-year prison term for lying under oath in a Mumbai prison.
External links
- Best Bakery Case: 9 accused convicted
- Chronology of events in Best Bakery case
- "All 21 accused in Best Bakery carnage acquitted" - rediff.com article dated June 27, 2003
- "Zehraunissa wants Best Bakery case reopened in Mumbai" - rediff.com article dated July 7, 2003
- "Why did Zaheera Sheikh have to lie?" - rediff.com article dated July 8, 2003
- Amnesty International's press release dated July 9, 2003 following the acquittal of all the accused in the case
- "Amended appeal filed in Best Bakery case" - rediff.com article dated September 29, 2003
- "Gujarat govt admits lapses in Best Bakery case" - rediff.com article dated December 23, 2003
- Best Bakery trial: Zaheera recants - PTI report on rediff.com - November 2, 2004
- Zahira Sheikh accuses activist of threatening her - Yahoo report - November 2, 2004
- "Best Bakery case: Zaheera turns hostile" - rediff.com article dated December 21, 2004
- "The Buying Of Zaheera Shiekh"
- "Zaheera accuses Setalvad of force - report on Daily Tribune
"Best Bakery case"