Tue May 06 07:51:44 UTC 2025: ## Supreme Court Rejects Plea, Begins Hearing in Godhra Train Burning Case
**New Delhi, May 6, 2025** – The Supreme Court today dismissed arguments from convicts in the 2002 Godhra train burning case challenging the constitutionality of a two-judge bench hearing their appeals. The convicts argued that a three-judge bench was necessary due to the death penalty aspect, citing precedent set in the Red Fort terror attack case.
However, the court ruled that since the Gujarat High Court commuted the death sentences to life imprisonment, a two-judge bench was appropriate. The court pointed to Supreme Court rules and a 2014 judgment stipulating the need for a three-judge bench only when the High Court confirms or awards the death penalty. The hearing on the appeals, filed by both the Gujarat government and several convicts challenging the October 2017 High Court verdict, commenced today.
The 2002 Godhra incident, in which 59 people died when a Sabarmati Express coach was set ablaze, sparked widespread riots in Gujarat. The High Court upheld 31 convictions but commuted the death sentences of 11 convicts to life imprisonment. The appeals currently before the Supreme Court challenge both the convictions and the commutation of sentences.
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