The Supreme Court has declined to revisit the discharge of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the staged 'encounter' killings case of Sohrabuddin Sheikh and related incidents. The court has raised concerns about the number of hostile witnesses and plans to examine witness statements.
On Monday, the Supreme Court expressed no intention of revisiting the discharge of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in connection with the alleged staged 'encounter' killings of Sohrabuddin Sheikh, his associate Tulsiram Prajapati, and the murder of Sohrabuddin Sheikh's wife Kauser Bi. The court's decision came during a hearing of an appeal by Rubabuddin Sheikh, the brother of Sohrabuddin Sheikh, challenging the Bombay High Court's May 7 decision to uphold the acquittal of the accused persons. The Supreme Court has asked for responses from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the 22 accused persons, including 21 police personnel.
In November 2005, Sohrabuddin Sheikh was killed by the Gujarat Police in an 'encounter' that is alleged to have been staged. He and his wife were traveling from Hyderabad to Sangli in Maharashtra when they were stopped by the police of both states, allegedly abducted, and shot dead near Gandhinagar. A sub-inspector also allegedly raped Kauser Bi before murdering her. Prajapati was the sole witness to the murders. He was in police custody after the incident but was shot dead in another ‘encounter’ in December 2006, when the police claimed he was trying to escape.
Out of 210 witnesses examined during the trial in the case, 92 were declared hostile. In December 2018, a special CBI court acquitted all persons accused in the matter. In its judgement, the court had held that the prosecution had failed to prove a conspiracy beyond reasonable doubt.
On Monday, a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana said this was a ‘serious concern’. The bench stated, ‘Although it was a concurrent finding, whether there was a fair and just trial, that’s to be considered.’ The court plans to examine the witness statements to assess the trial's fairness. Both sides have been asked to submit the witness statements they will rely on to support their arguments.
In April 2019, Rubabuddin Sheikh and Sohrabuddin Sheikh's other brother, Nayabuddin Sheikh, challenged the acquittal before the Bombay High Court, alleging that the trial was flawed and several witness statements were not recorded accurately.
Source:
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