...... SITUATION IN GUJARAT 17 3.14 Subsequent to the order of the Supreme Court dated 12th April, 2004, the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court assigned the trial of the Best Bakery Case to a court in Mumbai. The State of Gujarat insisted upon appointing the Public Prosecutor for prosecuting the case before the court in Mumbai, while the victims requested the Bombay High Court for appointment of a Public Prosecutor. This controversy between the States of Gujarat and Maharashtra regarding appointment of the Public Prosecutor led to delay in starting retrial of the case. The matter came to be resolved by the Supreme Court by its order dated 16.8.2004 appointing a Public Prosecutor and an Additional Public Prosecutor to prosecute the case. Both the Public Prosecutor and the Additional Public Prosecutor, namely, Mr.P.R. Vakil and Ms.Manjula Rao are from Maharashtra and their names had been suggested along with some other names by the complainants in the Best Bakery Case. Since the controversy regarding appointment of Public Prosecutor has been set at rest by the Supreme Court, the re-trial of the case is scheduled to begin on 19.8.2004. CASE OF MS. BILKIS YAKUB RASOOL 3.15 Major events, court proceedings and the Commission’s orders in this case have already been reported in the previous annual report for the year 2002-2003. The alleged gang-rape victim, Ms. Bilkis Rasool approached the Commission complaining that the police had not arrested the culprits, although she had very clearly given their names with particulars in her complaint and had on the other hand closed her case and filed a “final report” stating the case to be “untraced”. Ms. Bilkis conveyed to the Commission that she wished to pursue legal remedy and file a case in the Supreme Court against the police action closing her case, but she did not have the means to pursue the case. She, therefore, requested the Commission to provide her legal assistance to pursue her case in the Supreme Court. 3.16 By its proceedings dated 9.7.2003, the Commission decided to give legal assistance to Mrs. Bilkis Yakub Rasool and undertook to bear the necessary expenses, if the need so arises, to enable her to ventilate her grievances in the Supreme Court of India. Shri Harish Salve, Sr.Advocate, Shri Ashok Arora, and Ms.Shobha, Advocate-on-Record, favourably responded to the request of the Chairperson, NHRC to provide legal assistance to Mrs.Bilkis Yakub Rasool and agreed to appear for her and pursue her case. On 25th August, 2003, Writ Petition (Criminal) 118 of 2003 was filed on behalf of Ms.Bilkis Yakub Rasool in the Supreme Court of India against the State of Gujarat seeking setting aside of the order of the learned Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Limkheda dated 25.3.2003 accepting the “final report” submitted by the police and to quash and set aside the “final report” of the police itself. She also sought a further direction to the Director, CBI, to conduct an independent investigation into the gang-rape and prosecute the guilty. 3.17 The Supreme Court issued notice to the State and after hearing learned counsel for the parties’ accepted the prayer of the writ petitioner Ms.Bilkis Yakub Rasool and ordered fresh investigation into her complaint by the CBI by its order dated 16.12.2003. ANNUAL REPORT 2003-04