The Best Bakery case is the name used to refer to a case involving an incident which occurred on March 1, 2002, at a bakery (called Best Bakery) in Vadodara, India during the 2002 Gujarat violence in which 14 people were murdered, many of them burned to death. Categories: Stub | Software engineering | Data management ... March 1 is the 60th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (61st in leap years). ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... Bakery foods A baker is someone who bakes and sells bread, cakes and similar foods. ... Vadodra (Gujarati: વડોદરા, Hindi: बडोदा),  , also known as Baroda, is the third most-populated town in the Indian state of Gujarat after Ahmedabad and Surat. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Media glare

The case came into prominence after all the 21 accused were initially acquitted on June 27, 2003 by a "fast-track court" for lack of evidence after 37 out of the 73 witnesses, including key witness Zaheera Sheikh turned hostile. The judgement said "It was proved beyond doubt that a violent mob had attacked the bakery and killed 12 persons. However, there was no legally acceptable evidence to prove that any of the accused presented before the court had committed the crime." The judgement was critical of the police for delay in registering FIR and for not investigating the incident properly and harassing innocent people. It was reported that key witnesses in the case had lied in court out of fear for their lives as they had been given death threats. Key witnesses in the case include the wife and daughter of the bakery owner. According to their testimony to the police and the National Human Rights Commission, 500 people armed with petrol bombs had attacked the bakery. They also accused Bharatiya Janata Party and other party politicians of threatening and harassing them into withdrawing their testimony. June 27 is the 178th day of the year (179th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 187 days remaining. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Zaheera Sheikh is the key witness in the Best Bakery case. ... The National Human Rights Commission of India was set up under the Human Rights Act, 1993. ... Molotov cocktail is the generic name for a variety of crude incendiary weapons. ... The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), literally meaning Indian Peoples Party, created in 1980, is one of the two major national political parties in India. ...

Gujarat Government tries to correct mistakes

Later in September, the Gujarat government filed an amended appeal in the Gujarat High Court seeking retrial of the case. The appeal was admitted by the Gujarat High Court. In October, after being indicted by the Supreme Court of India, the police registered a case against Bharatiya Janata Party legislator for intimidating the witnesses of the incident. In December, the Government of Gujarat admitted there were lapses on the part of the police in registering and recording the FIR in the case and on the part of the prosecution in recording the evidence of witnesses. It said the police had attempted to help the accused by not submitting names of the accused. The Gujarat High Court is the High Court of the state of Gujarat. ... The Supreme Court of India is the highest court of the land as established by Part V, Chapter IV of the Constitution of India. ... Gujarāt (GujarātÄ«: , IPA: ,  ) is the most industrialized state in the Republic of India with 19. ... A First Information Report or FIR is a written document prepared by the police in India when they receive information about the commission of a cognizable offence. ...

In November 2004, Zaheera Sheikh retracted her statement again. She stated that the judgment passed by the Gujarat court was correct. She also stated that she had never met the above mentioned legislator. She claims that she made all the statements under the pressure of NGO activist Teesta Setalvad.

Zaheera's flipflops

In December 2004, the prosecution declared Zaheera Sheikh to be a hostile witness. She became the 7th witness to turn hostile in the case after her mother, sister, brothers and another two witnesses. During examination, she said that her maternal uncle Quaser was not present in the bakery when it was set on fire going against the statement she had given to the police earlier. She even claimed that she had signed the FIR without knowing its contents. A tape by Tehelka claimed that Zaheera had been bribed by a BJP MLA. On December 24, 2004, Zaheera was ousted from the Muslim community on the grounds that she was lying constantly. This decision was with consent from the All India Muslim Personal Law Board. [1] A witness who is called by and who testifies for the opposing party or, less frequently, who, when offering testimony adverse to the party who called him, may at request to the judge be termed a hostile witness, which means that the witness is then subject to direct questions in... A First Information Report or FIR is a written document prepared by the police in India when they receive information about the commission of a cognizable offence. ... Tehelka. ... December 24 is the 358th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (359th in leap years). ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

On August 3, 2005, Zaheera Sheikh testified to Nanavati Commission, accusing Teesta Setalvad of keeping Zaheera in confinement and provoking her to name innocent persons as accused in the case. August 3 is the 215th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (216th in leap years), with 150 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... What my observation is that teesta is not a social worker or has nothing to do with society, what she wants is name in media thats why she is picking up points out of gujarat riots. ...

On February 24, 2006, the Mumbai retrial found nine of the defendants guilty and sentenced them to life imprisonment, while another eight were acquitted. The court also issued show-cause orders to Zaheera Sheikh and other witnesses who recanted their testimony to show why they should not be prosecuted for perjury. On March 29, 2006, a court ordered Zahira to undergo her one-year prison term for lying under oath in a Mumbai prison. February 24 is the 55th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Mumbaī (Devanāgarī: मुंबई, IPA: ), formerly known as Bombay, is the capital of the state of Maharashtra, and the most populous city of India, with an estimated population of about 13 million (as of 2006)[1]. Mumbai is located on Salsette Island, off the west coast of Maharashtra. ...

External links

• Witness Retraction: Need for legal reform
• Best Bakery Case: 9 accused convicted
• Chronology of events in Best Bakery case
• "All 21 accused in Best Bakery carnage acquitted" - rediff.com article dated June 27, 2003
• "Zehraunissa wants Best Bakery case reopened in Mumbai" - rediff.com article dated July 7, 2003
• "Why did Zaheera Sheikh have to lie?" - rediff.com article dated July 8, 2003
• Amnesty International's press release dated July 9, 2003 following the acquittal of all the accused in the case
• "Amended appeal filed in Best Bakery case" - rediff.com article dated September 29, 2003
• "Gujarat govt admits lapses in Best Bakery case" - rediff.com article dated December 23, 2003
• Best Bakery trial: Zaheera recants - PTI report on rediff.com - November 2, 2004
• Zahira Sheikh accuses activist of threatening her - Yahoo report - November 2, 2004
• "Best Bakery case: Zaheera turns hostile" - rediff.com article dated December 21, 2004
• "The Buying Of Zaheera Shiekh"
• "Zaheera accuses Setalvad of force - report on Daily Tribune