Sohrabuddin encounter case: Bombay High Court upholds acquittal of 22 accused

The special CBI court in Mumbai had acquitted all accused in 2018. Representational Pic/File

The Bombay High Court on Thursday upheld the acquittal of all 22 accused in the alleged fake encounter case involving gangster Sohrabuddin Shaikh, his wife Kausar Bi and aide Tulsiram Prajapati, reported the PTI.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad dismissed appeals filed by Shaikh's brothers, Rubabuddin and Nayabuddin, against the December 2018 verdict of a special court.

The detailed judgment is yet to be released.

Among those acquitted were 21 junior-level police officers from Gujarat and Rajasthan, who were accused of abducting and killing the three victims in staged encounters, the news agency reported.

The remaining accused was the owner of a farmhouse in Gujarat where Sohrabuddin and Kausar Bi were allegedly detained before their deaths.

Special CBI court had cited lack of evidence

The special CBI court in Mumbai had acquitted all accused in 2018, stating that the prosecution failed to establish any conspiracy behind the killings, as per the PTI.

The court had also said there was insufficient evidence to prove the involvement of the accused officers or any nexus between them and local politicians who were earlier named in the case but later discharged.

CBI did not challenge acquittal

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which took over the probe following Supreme Court directions, informed the high court last year that it had accepted the trial court's verdict and would not file an appeal.

However, Sohrabuddin's brothers approached the high court in 2019 seeking a retrial, alleging flaws in the trial process and claiming that some witnesses later said their statements had not been correctly recorded.

Background of the case

According to the CBI, Sohrabuddin Shaikh was killed in an alleged fake encounter near Ahmedabad in November 2005 by a joint police team from Gujarat and Rajasthan, the news agency reported.

His wife, Kausar Bi, was allegedly killed a few days later.

Tulsiram Prajapati, considered a key witness in the case, was killed in another alleged encounter on the Gujarat-Rajasthan border in December 2006.

The three were allegedly taken into custody while travelling from Hyderabad to Sangli by bus in November 2005.

The Supreme Court later transferred the trial to Mumbai and handed over the investigation to the CBI.

(with PTI inputs)