Bombay High Court Bombay High Court

THE BOMBAY High Court asked the CBI on Friday why it had not challenged the discharge of IPS officers in the alleged fake encounter case of Sohrabuddin Sheikh and Tulsiram Prajapati. The court was hearing a petition filed by Sohrabuddin’s brother, Rubabuddin, who has appealed against the special CBI court’s discharge of IPS officers Rajkumar Pandian, DG Vanzara and Dinesh MN.

The CBI has, so far, challenged the discharge only of N K Amin, while 14 IPS officers were discharged from the case.

Justice Revati Mohite-Dere asked the agency whether it was planning to file an appeal against the discharge orders.

She gave oral instructions to the CBI to refrain from framing charges against the accused till October 12, when the HC will hear the case again. The court also asked the CBI counsel why it had just opposed the discharge of sub-inspectors and constables, and not the IPS officers. It told the CBI that the agency should be “as aggrieved” as the applicant (Rubabuddin). It also questioned whether lack of sanction can be the sole ground for discharge.

A total of 38 accused were initially booked in connection with the case, 15 of whom were either discharged or dropped from the case. The special court is hearing arguments on the framing of charges against the remaining accused. The CBI had alleged that Sheikh was killed in a staged encounter by a team of Gujarat and Rajasthan police.

In November 2005, Sheikh, along with his wife Kausarbi and associate Tulsiram Prajapati, was traveling in a Sangli-bound bus from Hyderabad. A police team forced the three to alight and took them to Ahmedabad where Sheikh was first killed. Kausarbi and Prajapati, who had witnessed the incident, were also killed.

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