Sohrabuddin Case: 22 acquittals to be examined

The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to examine aspects of the acquittal of 22 accused in the 2005 Sohrabuddin Sheikh alleged fake encounter, while making it clear that it would not reconsider the discharge of Amit Shah in the case.

A bench comprising CJI Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana sought the response of the Central Bureau of Investigation, issuing notice on a plea challenging the Bombay High Court decision upholding the acquittal of 21 policemen and a civilian in the case.

The bench indicated that it would examine whether the trial resulting in the acquittals was fair and just, particularly in view of the large number of prosecution witnesses who turned hostile.

"We would like to see the statements of some witnesses," CJI Kant said, asking the CBI counsel to provide three or four statements considered vital to the case. The bench clarified that it was not summoning the entire trial record at this stage.

Justice Bagchi observed that 92 prosecution witnesses having turned hostile was a "serious concern" and said the question whether the trial was fair and just required consideration. He said: "We hope that you (the petitioner) are not assailing paragraph 43 (of a Bombay High Court judgement which rejected an application questioning Shah's discharge) or reopening a discharge that has become final (by an order of the Supreme Court in August 2016)."

The case relates to the death of Sohrabuddin Sheikh, his wife Kausar Bi and their associate Tulsiram Prajapati in Gujarat during 2005-06. CBI had alleged that Sheikh and Kausar Bi were abducted and killed in staged encounters, while Prajapati, who was allegedly a witness to the events, was subsequently killed in another encounter.

Shah, the current Union home minister who was the Gujarat home minister at the time, was discharged in the case by a special CBI court in December 2014. A challenge to his discharge before the Bombay High Court failed, and the Supreme Court subsequently declined to interfere, rendering the discharge final.

The Bombay High Court in May this year endorsed the December 2018 acquittal of the 22 accused, holding that the prosecution failed to establish the alleged conspiracy, abduction, illegal detention and killings. It noted that 92 of the 210 prosecution witnesses had turned hostile.

The Supreme Court said it would examine selected witness statements to determine whether the acquittal required scrutiny.

On the separate issue concerning Shah, the bench declined to revisit the matter. The court's proceedings follow appeals against the acquittal of the 22 accused by the Bombay High Court. CBI did not challenge the 2018 trial court acquittals.