Sohrabuddin Case

A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the Bombay High Court order acquitting 22 accused including 21 policemen in the alleged 2005 fake encounter case involving Gujarat gangster Sohrabuddin Shaikh, his wife and aide Tulsiram Prajapati. The petition has been filed by Nayabuddin Shaikh, younger brother of deceased Sohrabuddin Shaikh, challenging the May 7 order of the high court which, while acquitting the accused, said that the prosecution had failed to establish the case. On May 7, the high court observed it finds no ground to interfere with the trial court judgment acquitting the accused and added that the prosecution case is based on circumstantial evidence and there are several broken links in the chain of circumstances. It had dismissed the appeals filed by Rubabuddin and Nayabuddin, challenging the December 2018 judgment of a special CBI court in Mumbai acquitting all the accused in the case. Among the 22 accused acquitted, 21 were junior-level officers from .

The Bombay High Court on Thursday upheld the acquittal of the 22 accused in the 2005 case of the alleged fake encounter of gangster Sohrabuddin Shaikh, his wife Kausar Bi and his aide Tulsiram Prajapati. A bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad dismissed the appeals filed by Shaikh's brothers, Rubabuddin and Nayabuddin, challenging the December 2018 judgment of a special court acquitting all the accused in the case. Among the 22 accused acquitted, 21 were junior-level officers from Gujarat and Rajasthan police, who were allegedly part of the teams that abducted the three and later killed them in staged encounters. The remaining one accused was the owner of a farmhouse in Gujarat, where Shaikh and Kausar Bi were allegedly illegally detained before they were killed. A detailed copy of the judgment would be made available later. The special court, while acquitting the accused, had observed that the prosecution failed to establish a cogent case to sugges

"Our government is open to reinvestigating the Loya death case," Anil Deshmukh told reporters

Special CBI Judge S J Sharma had acquitted all the accused due to insufficient evidence while expressing sorrow over the loss of three lives

Earlier this month, a special CBI court acquitted all the 22 accused in the Sohrabuddin case

He also highlighted the deaths of others like Haren Pandya, Kauser Bi and Justice Loya, saying 'they just died'

Vanzara, who was initially a prime accused in the Sohrabuddin-Kausar Bi alleged fake encounter case but was exonerated by the special CBI court 3 years back

The case also evoked controversy when judge B H Loya, who was presiding over the CBI court, died three years ago after a heart attack

The court closed the case completion of final arguments by prosecution and defence lawyers on Dec 5

Special CBI Judge S J Sharma ruled the prosecution has failed to put forth any 'documentary and substantive evidence' to suggest or establish the alleged conspiracy

Special CBI Judge S J Sharma ruled the prosecution has failed to put forth any 'documentary and substantive evidence' to suggest or establish the alleged conspiracy.

The case has attracted much attention as BJP chief Amit Shah, who was Minister of State for Home in Gujarat at the time of the incidents, was one of the accused before being discharged in 2014

At present, 22 accused, mostly police personnel from Gujarat and Rajasthan, are facing trial in the case

The petition was filed by Bombay Lawyers Association questioning the CBI's decision not to challenge the discharge granted to Shah in the case

Rahul also cited media reports that the judge hearing the case has been replaced

Justice Revati Mohite-Dere ruled that the special CBI court had overreached its powers by issuing the gag order

The CBI court said while journalists can attend the proceedings, they must not make what transpired public

A division bench of Justices S C Dharmadhikari and Bharti Dangre today posted the petition for arguments on February 13 after the CBI counsel sought time

The PIL was filed by the Bombay Lawyers Association

Sohrabuddin Shaikh was killed in an alleged fake encounter near Gandhinagar in November 2005, after which his wife disappeared