The Bombay High Court upholds the December 2018 acquittal of 22 persons in the 2005 case involving the alleged “fake” encounter of gangster Sohrabuddin Shaikh, his wife Kausar Bi, and his aide Tulsiram Prajapati. A bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad dismisses appeals filed by Shaikh’s brothers, Rubabuddin and Nayabuddin, who challenged the special court’s decision to acquit all accused.
The 22 acquitted persons include 21 junior-level police officers from Gujarat and Rajasthan, who the prosecution had alleged were part of teams that abducted the three and later carried out staged encounters leading to their deaths. The remaining acquitted accused is described as the owner of a farmhouse in Gujarat, where Shaikh and Kausar Bi were allegedly illegally detained prior to the killings.
The special court’s acquittal follows findings that the prosecution does not establish a cogent case. A detailed copy of the High Court judgment is to be made available later. The court’s decision results in the acquittal being maintained.
