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Justice is the cardinal righteousness that guides the socio-political life of all human beings, offering the comfort that we so desperately seek from the grievances of injustice. But while the doctrines embody the idealism of all that is virtuous the reality is a struggle to seek the truth. The Best Bakery Trial is an epitome of that struggle where justice is being reduced to a mere farce, when witnesses turn hostile, testimonies change and somewhere between the twists and turn lies the truth of what had really happened.

In 2002, Gujarat was burning after a suspected and alleged Muslim mob torched a train killing almost 60 Hindus returning from Ayodhya. An ominous darkness of inhumanity descended upon Gujarat as the streets and alleys witnessed betrayal, pain and suffering. Innocence was lost and trust broken as neighbours turned assailants and friendships were sacrificed in the altar of hate and revenge. The Best Bakery Case was one of the many stories that captured those turbulent times and has since become somewhat the personification of not only the carnage but also the pathetic and almost an impossible pursuit for justice in Gujarat.

Zaheera Sheikh, the prime witness in the Best Bakery case, arrives at the special court in Mumbai
© PTI/File

The Best Bakery was located in Hanuman Tekri in Baroda. It was a small bread-making unit that became the refuge from a violent mob for its Muslim owner Habibullah Sheikh and his family along with relatives and even a few Hindu bakery workers. The Bakery was set ablaze, in which 14 people, including Habibullah Sheikh were burned and hacked to death. His daughter Zaheera Sheikh was one of the 11 people who lived through the ordeal that led to the arrest of 21 Hindus for their role in the massacre. But when the trial began Zaheera and a number of witnesses retracted the earlier statements made to the police and the case crumbled before it even began. The acquittal was controversial keeping in mind the barbarity of the act. But it was an obvious outcome given the lack of evidence to emphasize the gravity of what happened and place the criminal at the scene without the testimony of key witnesses.

The ruling was a disappointment for those who had hoped that justice would be swift and fair. Alas, as Ellen O’Grady once aptly put it: “Crime takes but a moment but justice an eternity." But having said that one has to be realistic that it had become apparent from the onset that the case would be far from simple taking into consideration the political and religious dimensions present. Soon there were reports that witnesses had been intimidated and threatened as Zaheera Sheikh gave a press conference and interviews to the effect. The fact that Gujarat's Hindu nationalist government knew very well the magnitude of the case and yet failed to ensure adequate security to the witnesses in the initial stages of the trial only reflected the lack of sincerity for justice to be truly served.

The statements made by Zaheera Sheikh and her family had the basis for The Best bakery case to be re-examined and there was the hope for another chance to seek justice. Zaheera along with India's National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) appealed to The Supreme Court of India to order a retrial. Citizens for Justice and Peace, a Non Governmental Organisation took up the case with one of its prominent members, Ms. Teesta Setalvad, joint editor of Communalism Combat successfully spearheading the campaign to shift the case from Gujarat to Mumbai for justice to be truly imparted to ensure some kind of a credibility and sancity.

A fresh trial was ordered by The Supreme Court appointing two new Public Prosecutors. This was clearly a different approach from the earlier trial where Gujarat's Hindu nationalist government appointed a public prosecutor known to be a member of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. How could a fair justice be envisioned or imparted, when the prosecutor himself belongs to a group accused for playing a pivotal role in the post-Godhra violence? It must also be noted that it is not the Gujarat Government but the attorney general that has the authority to approve prosecutors. So it was evident that political patronage was influencing the course of justice in the ‘Best Bakery Case.’ It would be delusional to really believe that the Gujarat Government even acknowledges the riot cases when it continues to be in a denial mode about the scale of the death and destruction. There is an unconcealed bias in the way riot cases are being conducted in general and it is evident as almost 2,000 riot cases are being re-examined by the Supreme Court.

The Best Bakery Case would have simply become another riot case had it not been for the prime witness Zaheera Sheikh. The media and concerned Non Governmental Organisations (NGO) saw Zaheera Sheikh as the poster girl against a system that remained reluctant to accept the gravity of the Gujarat riots. She was glorified as this courageous voice speaking out against injustice and breaking the deafening silence. A kind of crusader that would somehow encourage more voices to step onto the podium and demand justice for what had happened in Gujarat. The idealism made Zaheera Sheikh the prime witness in the case with all hopes pinned on her testimony. But then the reality turned out to be very different with the case taking unexpected twist and turns.

Zaheera Sheikh retracted the earlier statements identifying the 21 accused in the Best Bakery Case. She has flipped flopped on atleast three important dates of the trial. Her testimonies have changed in succession in spite of the same having been filed as sworn affidavits. Zaheera Sheikh has also accused Teesta Setalvad whose NGO has been supporting her in the case of intimidation and pressure into making false statements against “naming innocent persons” during the present retrial. It seems Zaheera Sheikh had a change of heart along the way as she now sees the initial judgement made by a Gujarat Session Court as acceptable. Of course what is conveniently overlooked is the fact that it was Zaheera Sheikh was as interested as the Indian Human Rights Commission to seek a retrial from The Supreme Court of India in the first place. She now conveniently feigns amnesia of what she said in her first press conference, which again she claims was done on the behest of Teesta Setalvad. These contradictory statements come as Zaheera Sheikh and her family are given state protection from the very Government and its machineries that she so vehemently criticized? There are also reports that the Sheikh family have received money, which, if true, would more than abundantly explain the sudden volte face in the case.

The accusations and recantations has made a mockery of the judicial process and an outrage to the sentiments of all those who are still sincerely struggling for justice but without the media focus and public interest.The prosecution still faces the dilemma to make the Best bakery case stand on the circumstantial evidence despite its star witness Zaheera Sheikh merrily tarnishing her own credibility. The hope for respite is further diminished with Zaheera’s mother and brother also becoming hostile witnesses.

The need of the hour is to go beyond Zaheera Sheikh to see the larger context of the Best Bakery case. It is appalling that we have focused so much on Zaheera Sheikh when this case represents something more significant than that. This case is the hope in the struggle for justice for all the families of the victims of the Gujarat violence. There has to be accountability for the hundreds of lives that have been lost. To overlook the gravity of what this case represents on the whole for the frivolity of witnesses burdened by political appeasement and monetary considerations is tragic and inexcusable. Let us not have the delusion that the Gujarat Government even acknowledges riots cases when it continues to be in a denial mode about the scale of the death and destruction. There is an unconcealed bias in the way riot cases are being conducted and it is evident as almost 2,000 riot cases are being re-examined by the Supreme Court. Yet we choose to scrutinize the NGOs and the motives of activities like Teesta Setalvad instead of questioning why justice has been delayed. This case is not about Zaheera Sheikh and it sure is not about Teesta Setalvad and therefore the focus should be on the facts of the case instead of particular individuals.

It seems highly unlikely that justice will ever be served in the Best Bakery case. It will simply become another riot story where the perpetrators will go unpunished and everything will be forgotten with time. But how many lives have to be lost before we learn to value it? How long can we allow justice to be stifled by the lack of sincerity and political will? To seek justice is righteous indeed, but it is a path filled with obstacles and disappointment. Yet we must not surrender for justice stands against all that is wrong and unreasonable in this world. It is the voice of reason and integrity on which society survives. The great Confucius once said: "To see what is right, and not do it, is want of courage, or of principle." The Best Bakery case will test our courage and question our principles, but we will have to rise above it all to keep the sanctity and belief that so many of us have in the judicial process.

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