The Bombay High Court upheld the acquittal of 22 individuals, including several police officers, in the 2005 Sohrabuddin Shaikh alleged fake encounter case. The division bench dismissed a petition filed by Sohrabuddin’s widow, Rubabuddin Shaikh, challenging the 2018 special court verdict that acquitted all accused.
The case revolved around the death of Sohrabuddin Shaikh, a gangster, and his associate Tulsiram Prajapati in alleged fake encounters with the Gujarat and Rajasthan police. Rubabuddin alleged her husband was abducted from Hyderabad and killed in a staged encounter after being falsely portrayed as a Lashkar-e-Taiba operative with plans to assassinate then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
The court found no concrete evidence to prove the conspiracy alleged by Rubabuddin. It noted inconsistencies in the testimonies of witnesses, particularly those who were themselves criminals and turned approvers. The court highlighted that the prosecution failed to establish a common purpose among the accused to eliminate Sohrabuddin.
Specifically, the court scrutinized the evidence related to the alleged conspiracy meetings and found them unreliable. It questioned the credibility of statements obtained through coercion and pointed out discrepancies in the sequence of events presented by the prosecution. The court also observed that the evidence regarding the alleged motive – preventing Sohrabuddin from revealing information about a political conspiracy – was weak and unsubstantiated.
The acquitted individuals included IPS officers, police constables, and alleged criminals. The CBI, which investigated the case, had argued that Sohrabuddin was deliberately targeted and killed as part of a larger conspiracy. However, the High Court concluded that the CBI failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. The court affirmed that the special court’s decision was based on a thorough evaluation of the evidence and was legally sound. This decision effectively closes the legal proceedings related to the alleged fake encounter, confirming the acquittals previously granted.
