Bombay High Court Backs 2018 Verdict Acquitting All Accused in Sohrabuddin Case

The Bombay High Court on Thursday upheld the acquittal of all 22 accused in the alleged fake encounter case involving gangster Sohrabuddin Shaikh , his wife Kausar Bi and aide Tulsiram Prajapati , bringing a major chapter of the nearly two-decade-old case closer to closure.

A division bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Gautam Ankhad dismissed appeals filed by Shaikh’s brothers, Rubabuddin and Nayabuddin, who had challenged the 2018 special court verdict acquitting the accused.

The case was termed a “fake encounter” after investigators alleged that Sohrabuddin was not killed in a genuine exchange of fire, but was allegedly abducted and later shot dead in a staged police operation near Ahmedabad in November 2005. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) also alleged that Kausar Bi was killed days later to eliminate evidence, while Prajapati, considered a key witness, was allegedly killed in another staged encounter in December 2006.

According to the prosecution, the trio was travelling from Hyderabad to Sangli by bus when they were taken into custody by police teams from Gujarat and Rajasthan on the night of November 22-23, 2005.

The 22 accused included 21 police officers from Gujarat and Rajasthan and a Gujarat farmhouse owner where the victims were allegedly detained before the killings.

The special CBI court in Mumbai had acquitted all accused in December 2018, citing lack of evidence and failure of the prosecution to prove conspiracy or involvement of the accused beyond reasonable doubt . The CBI later accepted the verdict and chose not to file an appeal.

The trial had been shifted to Mumbai after the Supreme Court transferred the probe to the CBI.