MUMBAI: Bombay high court on Thursday dismissed appeals filed against a December 2018 acquittal of all 22 accused in the 2005 Sohrabuddin Shaikh ‘fake encounter’ case. Chief Justice led bench said “appeals dismissed”. Detailed order to follow. The appeals were filed in April 2019 by Shaikh’s brothers Rubabbudin Shaikh and Nayabuddin Shaikh. They sad the trial was “flawed” The HC Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad had heard at length among others, the appellants’ counsel Gautam Tiwari, Additional solicitor general Anil Singh and special public prosecutor Amit Munde for CBI and senior counsel Amir Desai appearing for Narainsinh Dabhi a former Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) police inspector, who was also acquitted.A case was registered in 2014 came against officials of Gujarat and Rajasthan.Police in relation to the alleged fake encounters of Sohrabuddin Shaikh in the early hours of 26th November 2005 between Narol Circle and Vishala circle at Ahmedabad and Tulsiram Parajapti at Ambaji in Gujarat in the morning of 28th December 2006, and also the disappearance of Sohrabuddin Shaikh’s wife Kauser Bi who was allegedly burnt on 27th November 2005, and her body disposed of on 28th November 2005 at a village called Illol at Gujarat which is situated on the banks of Naramada river.The brothers residents of Madhya Pradesh said the loss of their brother and sister-in-law was irreparable and the State, represented through the CBI, had not filed any appeal challenging the acquittal judgment. The appeal was on the grounds that the observations and conclusion of the Special trial court Judge were “wholly and completely contradictory to the evidence at hand” and “devoid of any reasonableness” and was based on “unwarranted assumptions and manifestly erroneous appreciation of evidence.” It leads to miscarriage of justice and hence interference by the HC is needed to secure ends of justice. The senior counsel for some accused opposed the appeal and said the trial court verdict was justified and reasoned and merited no interference. The HC for reasons to be available later, found no merit in the challenge and dismissed the appeals. All acquitted were police officers from Gujarat and Rajasthan.
