Sohrabuddin case: Bombay High Court directs CBI to find status of interim stay granted to IPS officer

Sohrabuddin Sheikh and his wife. (File photo)

THE COURT hearing the Sohrabuddin Shaikh alleged fake encounter case has directed the CBI to find out about the status of the interim stay granted on the trial against Gujarat IPS officer Vipul Aggarwal. Aggarwal, who was a Superintendent of Police in Gujarat in 2005, has filed an appeal before the Bombay High Court against the trial court’s order rejecting his discharge application on November 7, 2017.

The High Court had on November 13, 2017 directed the trial court not to frame charges against Aggarwal, while stating that the trial against the other accused proceed.

Since then, the court has framed charges against 22 accused, including policemen from Gujarat, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh. The trial court has also so far recorded the evidence of 92 prosecution witnesses in the case. On Tuesday, special Judge S J Sharma directed special public prosecutor B P Raju to inform the court on whether the stay on trial against Aggarwal is in effect till now. After the High Court imposed the interim stay in November, the last hearing on his appeal was held before Justice Revati Mohite Dere on January 10 on continuation of interim relief for Aggarwal.

“Interim order granted earlier to continue till next date,” Justice Mohite Dere had said.

The High Court had then adjourned the matter to February 1. In the same month, a change in the rosters of judges’ assignments came into effect and since then the matter was transferred from Justice Mohite Dere.

The trial court on Monday directed the CBI to clarify on whether this means that Aggarwal continues to get interim relief or the court is expected to go on with the trial against him.

According to the High Court website, the appeal was since then listed four dates in February, March, April. It has now been listed for June 21. According to the CBI, Aggarwal had “intentionally destroyed” the leave record of co-accused Ashish Pandya, involved in the alleged fake encounter of Sohrabuddin’s associate Tulsiram Prajapati as part of the criminal conspiracy.

Meanwhile, a Rajasthan police officer, currently an additional superintendent of police, who was to depose as a prosecution witness on Tuesday, informed the court that he is unwell and under medication and hence would not be able to appear before the court.

Previously, too, on two occasions, the officer, who had led the team which arrested Prajapati in November 2005 from Bhilwara in Rajasthan, had expressed his inability to come to court. The court has now rescheduled his deposition to July. On Tuesday, the CBI examined the man whose motorbike was stolen and found at the spot where Sohrabuddin was allegedly killed in a fake encounter on November 26, 2005 in Gujarat. The Gujarat police had then claimed that Sohrabuddin, a wanted accused, was escaping on the motorbike and was killed in an encounter.