Ahmedabad: Gujarat Government today (Dec 22, 2003) pointed out lapses on the part of prosecution in 'recording of evidence' and 'registering and recording of FIR' by police, of witnesses during the trial of the Best Bakery carnage in Vadodara, wherein all 21 accused were acquitted by a fast-track court earlier this year.

Advocate General S N Shelat, making his submissions on the 'amended' appeal challenging the acquittal and seeking retrial in the case, pointed out these lapses before the Division Bench of Justice B J Sethna and Justice J R Vora.

He referred to the case of a witness Rahish Khan Pathan who submitted that doctors at SSG Hospital in Vadodara had stated that he had serious head injuries and "his mental state did not permit him to give any statement".

However his statement was recorded on March 2 2003 and "treated as an FIR", the Advocate General submitted.

Shelat argued that it was an obvious attempt by police to "help the accused, as no names of the accused were given in this statement". Khan's statement was again recorded on March 4 wherein he had named five persons as accused, but he was not examined during the trial.

Moreover, the statement of key witnesses Zaheera Sheikh was recorded at 11:15 am by police inspector Himmatsinh Baria on March 2, while Rahish Khan's statement was recorded at 12.00 noon.

However, it was Khan's statement that was treated as an FIR, despite Zaheera's being recorded "much prior".

"Under no circumstances, Rahish Khan's statement could have been treated as FIR and it could have been deferred."