A special CBI court on Wednesday decided that it would hear the arguments for objections raised against Vanzara and Amin’s application.Shamima Kauser, mother of Ishrat Jahan who was killed in a police encounter with three others in 2004, has objected to the application filed by retired policemen D G Vanzara and N K Amin seeking that proceedings against them in the case be dropped.
A special CBI court on Wednesday decided that it would hear the arguments for objections raised against Vanzara and Amin’s application.
The objection comes as Vanzara and Amin filed an application on March 26, seeking that all proceedings against them be dropped in light of the Gujarat government order that declined sanction to the CBI to prosecute the four accused in the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case.
Kauser’s representative Parvez Pathan, after submitting his vakalatnama, raised an objection against dropping the criminal proceedings against Vanzara and Amin. Kauser had filed the application on March 26.
Kauser’s application sought a copy of the Gujarat government’s order denying the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) permission to prosecute the two accused in the case of murder and criminal conspiracy. Pathan also requested the court to allow him to file a reply and argue this further.
The objection thus raised, was vehemently opposed by the counsels for the accused. Advocate Vinod Gajjar representing Vanzara said there was no such legal provision (to object) and “this is a delaying tactic”. “Is there anything left in this matter?” Gajjar asked. “This application should not be entertained. It will set a bad precedent. They (Kauser and her legal representatives) had ample time. What prevented them from filing an objection earlier?”
However, the special CBI court of Justice JK Pandya took note of the objection and ordered that a reply be filed by Kauser’s representatives citing the specific objections and that the objections then also be argued, both on April 9.
Justice Pandya reasoned that everyone must be given equal opportunity to determine the merits of the case.
Speaking to the Indian Express, Pathan said, “We will argue our case on the basis that the CBI did not require sanction from the government in this case.”
The CBI, represented by advocate RC Kodekar, did not object to the admission of Kauser’s application. Kodekar said to the court that “an appropriate order may be passed in accordance with the law.” The CBI was expected to file a reply in response to Vanzara and Amin’s application.
The case will be heard next on April 9.
The two accused retired police officials’ application also sought that “the accused be set free immediately, from the case, and further proceedings against the accused needs to be dropped without waiting for any further comment or reply from the CBI.”
Ishrat was killed along with Pranesh Pillai alias Javed Shaikh, and two others said to be Pakistani nationals — Amjad Ali Rana and Zeeshan Johar — on the outskirts of Ahmedabad on June 15, 2004. The police had claimed that they were terrorists plotting to kill then chief minister Narendra Modi and they had killed them in an encounter. A Special Investigation Team investigation found that the encounter had been staged.
