Won't reopen Sohrabuddin case but will test validity of acquittal of all accused: SC

2005 Sohrabuddin encounter case: SC to test acquittals by trial court, Bombay HC

NEW DELHI: SC Monday agreed to test the validity of acquittal of police officers and all other accused concurrently by the trial court and Bombay high court in the controversial 2005 Sohrabuddin fake encounter case.Appearing for petitioner Rubabuddin Sheikh, brother of Sohrabuddin, senior advocate D Seshadri Naidu told a bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana that his client lost his brother, sister-in-law and brother's friend Tulsiram Prajapati yet the trial court and the HC overlooked critical evidence to acquit all 22 accused, 21 of them police officers from Gujarat, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh.The CJI-led bench said it would not reopen the case relating to fake encounter killings of Sohrabuddin, who had multiple criminal cases pending against him, or Prajapati, but would examine the strength of testimonies of witnesses.Appearing for some of the acquitted accused, senior advocate K Parameshwar told the bench that HC, in its appellate capacity, had considered the testimony of each of the witnesses before approving the acquittals.

The bench asked the CBI and the petitioner to flag important witnesses and their depositions to the SC on the next date of hearing while seeking responses from the acquitted accused to the appeal filed by Rubabuddin.Justice Bagchi said, "It is worrisome that there has been wholesale turning hostile of witnesses. More worrisome is the fact that those who had recorded their statements before the magistrate under Section 164 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), they also turned hostile."

The petitioner said the high court had failed to discharge its appellate function especially when it was informed in no uncertain terms that the evidence was tainted because of a "tailored investigation" which was aggravated by the actions of an "unprincipled prosecutor".Sohrabuddin and his wife Kauser Bi, along with Prajapati, were allegedly abducted by a team of Gujarat and Rajasthan police in Oct 2005. While Prajapati was allowed to go, Sohrabuddin was killed in a fake encounter, and his wife was allegedly murdered. Prajapati was killed in another fake encounter a year later.