Naroda Patiya case: Quantum of sentence on Aug 31

The special trial court will pronounce the quantum of punishment for 32 convicts in the 2002 post-Godhra Naroda Patiya riots case on August 31.

After hearing all the sides, special court judge Jyotsna Yagnik reserved the order on quantum of punishment for August 31, a lawyer said.

The prosecution has demanded death sentence for all the accused convicted in the Naroda Patiya case.

Earlier in the day, the court convicted 32, including former Gujarat minister and BJP MLA Maya Kodnani and Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi, and acquitted 29 others.

Former Gujarat Minister Kodnani and Bajrangi have been convicted under sections 120 (B) (criminal conspiracy) and 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code, amongst others.

Special public prosecutor Akhil Desai sought capital punishment for the convicts, during the hearing for quantum of punishment.

Desai argued that as this court has upheld the aspect of murder and criminal conspiracy, this is a fit case to be termed as "rarest of rare" and court should award capital punishment to the convicts.

If the court wants to be lenient then at least it should award minimum of 20 years of imprisonment to each of the convicts, he argued.

Opposing his contention, defense advocate Niranjan Tikani appealed to the court to show leniency towards the convicts, keeping in mind their family background and financial condition.

Tikani also opposed the demand of capital punishment for Kodnani and submitted that her husband has been operated upon recently and is not keeping good health, while her son is studying in the US, so the court should consider this aspect as well.