Sohrabuddin Case: Bombay HC Questions CBI’s Lack Of Urgency To Ensure Discharge Pleas Are Heard Soon

The Bombay High Court on Monday questioned the CBI as to why there was no sense of urgency in seeking an expeditious hearing on the revision applications challenging discharge of accused in the alleged fake encounter case of Sohrabuddin, considering the trial had already begun two months back.

Justice Revati Mohite Dere asked the question while hearing the revision applications filed by Rubabuddin Sheikh (brother of Sohrabuddin Sheikh) wherein the discharge of DG Vanzara, Dinesh MN and Rajkumar Pandiyan from the alleged fake encounter case of Sohrabuddin, Kausar Bi and Tulsiram Prajapati had been challenged.

List of accused discharged

Justice Dere asked the CBI to submit a chart of all the police officers whose discharge from the said case has been challenged. This chart will also contain details, like sections imposed by the CBI on these accused.

A total of 38 accused had been named in the CBI’s charge sheet, including BJP national president Amit Shah. Out of these, 15 have already been discharged from the case by the trial court. Out of the 40 witnesses examined, 32 have already turned hostile.

In the current applications, challenge is specific to officers who were discharged by the Special CBI Court on the ground of lack of prior sanction by the CBI.

The high court had previously questioned whether lack of prior sanction was a good enough reason to discharge the accused and also asked the CBI why they decided not to challenge the discharge order.

Although the trial began on November 28, CBI’s counsel ASG Anil Singh on Monday sought a three-week adjournment in the matter, to which Justice Dere remarked:“The trial began on November 28, so shouldn’t you be more anxious to ensure that the discharge pleas are heard soon? Why are you not more anxious?”

Daily hearing from Feb 9

The high court will now hear these revision applications on a daily basis beginning February 9 at 3 pm.