The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has decided not to challenge the acquittal of all 22 accused in the 2005 alleged fake encounter case of gangster Sohrabuddin Shaikh and his aide Tulsiram Prajapati. The agency informed the Bombay High Court on Wednesday that it would not appeal against the 2018 verdict of a special court.
The special court, in December 2018, had acquitted all the accused, observing that the prosecution failed to prove any conspiracy to kill Shaikh, his wife Kausar Bi, and Prajapati, or to establish the involvement of the accused. In April 2019, Shaikh’s brothers, Rubabuddin and Nayabuddin, had moved the High Court against this verdict.
Sohrabuddin Shaikh was killed in November 26, 2005 near Ahmedabad in an alleged encounter by the Gujarat Police. His wife Kausar Bi was also reportedly killed soon after. A month later, in December 2005, Tulsiram Prajapati — believed to be a key witness — was killed in another alleged encounter.
Among those initially accused was Amit Shah, then Gujarat’s home minister and now the Union Home Minister. The CBI had alleged that Shah played a central role in the conspiracy, citing phone records and witness statements linking him to senior police officers involved in the killings. The agency had also referred to alleged payments of around Rs 70 lakh from businessmen connected to the case. Shah, arrested in 2010, consistently maintained that the case was politically driven. He later left Gujarat for two years on court orders to avoid any interference with the probe.
The Supreme Court had transferred the case to the CBI and shifted the trial to Mumbai. During the proceedings, 210 witnesses were examined, but 92 turned hostile, weakening the prosecution’s position. In 2014, a special CBI court acquitted Shah and other accused due to lack of evidence. The Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court later upheld these acquittals.
On Wednesday, a bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad heard the brothers’ appeal. Representing the CBI, Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh informed the court that the agency had accepted the acquittal and would not pursue an appeal.
“We have accepted the acquittal judgment,” Singh said before the bench.
The petitioners argued that the trial was flawed, alleging that several witnesses’ testimonies were not properly recorded. They sought to have the 2018 verdict set aside and demanded a re-trial. The bench directed them to submit a list of witnesses whose statements they claim were misrecorded and posted the next hearing for October 15.
While acquitting the 22 accused, the special court had noted that the evidence was insufficient and that the CBI failed to prove any link between the police officers and political leaders.
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