Ahmedabad, March 28: Narendra Modi today basked in the Chief Justice of India’s presence right next to him at a public function barely eight hours after being questioned over his alleged role in the 2002 Gujarat riots.

CJI K.G. Balakrishnan’s decision to attend the convocation of the Gujarat National Law University, where he shared the dais with the chief minister, dismayed riot victims’ families and rights activists who had petitioned him to stay away.

University sources, however, said the function had been planned well in advance and that the judge and Modi were there by virtue of their ex-officio positions as the university’s Visitor and Patron, respectively.

Sources suggested that Modi’s keenness to have his questioning completed yesterday stemmed from his reluctance to miss today’s event and lose the chance to be seen with the CJI in public.

His nearly 10-hour interrogation by the Supreme Court-appointed special investigation team (SIT) ended just after 1am; by 9 this morning, the chief minister was at the university.

Yesterday, Modi had made a point of holding himself up as a law-abiding citizen, saying he was appearing before the SIT because “I have always maintained that the law and Constitution are supreme and that nobody is above the law”.

Narendra Modi and K. G. Balakrishnan at the convocation of the Gujarat National Law University. (PTI)

The remark earned a pat from a guest judge at the convocation, where Modi sat between the CJI and Gujarat High Court Chief Justice S.J. Mukhopadhyay.

Justice A.M. Ebrahim, a former Zimbabwe Supreme Court judge, said he “very much agreed” with the chief minister’s statement that “no one was above the law'”. Modi did not speak at the convocation.

Rights activists said riot victims’ families were toying with the idea of moving the Supreme Court challenging the “appropriateness” of the CJI sharing the dais with Modi.

The families and activists had earlier written to the CJI that “an association of (the CJI) with a person being examined for his role in (the) killing of innocent people, under the direction of the Supreme Court, will send wrong signals”.

Modi declined to reveal the questions he was asked, telling journalists: “I cannot share that with you because the SIT has to submit its report to the Supreme Court.”

He said he had recalled to the extent possible the sequence of events that had taken place eight years ago.

Some legal experts were sceptical about the “hyped marathon questioning”, saying if the SIT were serious, it would have summoned Modi under Section 160 of the CrPC that would have “legally bound him to reply and tell the truth”. Under the notice the SIT sent, it could not take action even if Modi stonewalled its queries.

SIT ‘Bible’

SIT chief R.K. Raghavan, however, claimed the questioning of Modi was a “very big step forward” towards unravelling the Gulbarg Society violence that killed 69 people, including Congress veteran Ahsan Jafri.

He described the petition by Ahsan’s widow Zakia, which led to Modi’s questioning, as the SIT’s “Bible” and said the questions were broadly related to it.

Asked if he was satisfied with Modi’s answers, he said he hadn’t seen them yet.

“I am happy he (Modi) was there. I haven’t spoken to (A.K.) Malhotra (the lone interrogator) yet; but he seemed satisfied,” Raghavan hedged.

He did not rule out summoning the chief minister again. “But first, I have to look at what he told Malhotra. Let him (Malhotra) give his report; I won’t breathe down his neck.”

Asked why he did not question Modi, Raghavan said that as a “CBI bird”, he had followed that agency’s practice. The CBI chief does not question witnesses or accused.

“Malhotra is the enquiry officer and I don’t want to curb his style. Malhotra is relaxed and is a man of grace. I am sure he extended utmost courtesy to the chief minister.”

Asked if the interrogation took so long because it covered the entire 2002 riots, Raghavan said “that is my conjecture” but added that Modi’s statement had to be properly taken down and typed before the chief minister could sign it.

Raghavan was hopeful the SIT would meet its April 30 deadline to submit its report to the apex court, which will direct the next course of action.

He declined to say whether an FIR might be registered against the chief minister.

Asked if he was under political pressure, Raghavan said: “Do I look like a man under pressure? I am relaxed... I do my job. I can quote the Bhagvad Gita. I do my duty. I don’t expect any fruit thereof. I believe in all religions.”