Gulbarg verdict weak, diluted; we will appeal: Teesta

Activist Teesta Setalvad called the special court's verdict in the Gulbarg Society massacre case on Friday a 'diluted and weak' judgment, and said that she would appeal against it.

"Eleven people had to be given life imprisonment since they were convicted in serious offences, but the biggest disappointment for us is that the rest of them have been given seven years of imprisonment," Setalvad said.

She added: "We believe, when a person is convicted under Section 436 and 149, there should have been a life imprisonment under these also. And in that sense, it is very much diluted judgement and a weak judgement to which we will surely be appealing."

Setalvad said that she did not know how the special judge dealt with the survivors' request for compensation under Section 357 of the Criminal Procedure Code, according to The Indian Express.

The Gulbarg Society massacre took place in Ahmedabad in 2002, just after the Godhra incident, when a mob of 400 people attacked the building and killed more than 60 residents. The special judge in the case sentenced 11 persons convicted for murder to life imprisonment, 12 to seven years' imprisonment and one 10 years in jail.