Ishrat case: HC rejects bail plea of police officer N K Amin

Gujarat High Court today refused bail to suspended Deputy Superintendent of Police N K Amin, arrested by CBI in the 2004 Ishrat Jahan encounter case.

Justice N V Anjaria rejected Amin's plea that he be granted 'default bail' as the CBI failed to file charge-sheet against him within 90 days of arrest, as required under the Criminal Procedure Code.

Amin, who was arrested on April 4, contended that the charge-sheet filed on July 3 was incomplete, hence it amounted to not filing the charge-sheet within 90 days.

The lower court had rejected his petition on July 9.

High Court today upheld the order, saying that the charge-sheet filed by CBI could not be deemed incomplete.

The charge-sheet against Amin and six other police officers alleges that 19-year-old Mumbai-based girl Ishrat Jahan, Javed Sheikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Zeeshan Johar and Amjad Ali Rana were killed in a fake encounter in 2004. It alleges that it was a joint operation of state police and Intelligence Bureau.

Amin is accused of abducting Ishrat and Sheikh from Vasad two days prior to the killings, and firing the shots during the so-called encounter.

IPS officer G L Singhal, retired DSP J G Parmar, Mehsana DySP Tarun Barot and commando Anaju Chaudhary have been granted default bail in the case by the special CBI court as the agency failed to file charge-sheet within 90 days of their arrests.