Gujarat government today kept on hold its decision to seek death penalty for former minister Maya Kodnani, Babu Bajrangi and eight others in the 2002 Naroda Patiya riots case.

The state government had earlier given its consent to file an appeal in the High Court seeking death sentence for Kodnani, Bajrangi and others, who were awarded life term by a lower court.

Gujarat Finance Minister and spokesperson Nitish Patel said,the decision has been withheld for now as the government has to take opinion of state advocate general and a final decision will be taken after that.

Kodnani, who was earlier a minister in the Modi government, was sentenced to 28 years in prison by a Special Court in August 2012 in connection with the post-Godhra Naroda Patiya riot case – in which 96 people were killed.

Bajrang Dal activist Babu Bajrangi was sentenced to jail for his entire life, while eight others were given 31 years’ jail term each in the same case.