Mayaben Kodnani gets 3 months bail on medical grounds

Ahmedabad, 12 November 2013

The Gujarat High Court has granted three months bail for former Gujarat minister and life-term convict in Naroda Patiya riot case Maya Kodnani on medical grounds.

Maya Kodnani has got bail against personal bonds of Rs 10,000. As per the conditions attached to the court order, she will need to inform SIT about the place of her treatment. She will also need to inform nearest police station about the location of her treatment.

The bail application was filed in last week of October and today came up for hearing after the Diwali vacation.

Kodnani, the 58-year-old gynecologist and an ex-minister in Narendra Modi cabinet, who is currently undergoing treatment in a hospital, had sought the relief for six months.

The court had sought medical reports from Civil hospital regarding Kodnani’s heart, and asked the concerned medical officer to provide regular medication to the patient. Justice A J Desai had asked for the reports over her bail plea for treatment of tuberculosis, heart ailments and depression.

According to her counsel, Kodnani had submitted medical certificates with her petition, explaining the grounds for seeking bail to avail of further treatment.

In her bail plea, she mentioned that during her stay in jail, she lost 14 kg weight. She had been suffering severe depression and was lately diagnosed with intestinal tuberculosis and a heart problem. Finding it difficult to cope with this situation, the former minister hoped to come out of jail for treatment. Since October 8, she has been getting treatment at Civil Hospital.

A special SIT court had in August 2012 sentenced her to 18 years life imprisonment in connection with the 2002 riots at Naroda Patiya where 97 people were brutally killed. She was sent to jail 14 months ago.

She will, however, have to serve 10 years in jail under section 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means) of IPC before her life sentence gets underway, thereby effectively getting a 28-year imprisonment.

Among 29 others convicted by the court, seven persons, including Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi, were given enhanced life term and they will have to first serve a 10-year term under section 326 before their life sentences begin whereas 22 others were given simple life imprisonment of 14 years.

Kodanai, who was made Minister of State for Women and Child Development in 2007, resigned after she was arrested in the case in March 2009.

The massacre had taken place a day after the Godhra train burning incident of February 27, 2002.