Date:01/10/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/10/01/stories/2008100156601300.htm

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SC stays trial in Sohrabuddin case

J. Venkatesan

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed trial in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case pending in a sessions court in Ahmedabad.

A Bench comprising Justices Tarun Chatterjee and Aftab Alam ordered the stay, after Additional Solicitor-General Gopal Subramaniam, amicus curiae, pleaded that the probe be entrusted to the CBI as the present charge sheet was filed after a “farce of an investigation.”

Following apprehensions he raised that records could be tampered with, the Bench directed the Gujarat High Court Registrar to take custody of the documents from the trial court and seal them. It directed the Madhya Pradesh Director-General of Police to ensure that no harm was done to the family of petitioner Rubabuddin, which lives at Jaharia in Ujjain.

Sohrabuddin was killed by the Gujarat police in the fake encounter on November 26, 2006 and a couple of days later his wife Kausarbi was also killed.

Thirteen people including Gujarat police officers — D. G. Vanzara (DIG), Raj Kumar Pandiyan (SP) — and Dinesh M. N. (Rajasthan cadre IPS) are facing trial.

Mr. Subramaniam alleged that P.C. Pandey, Gujarat DGP, was the architect in derailing the investigation. Had he acted in right earnest the life of Tulsiram Prajapati — the crucial link in the case — could have been saved.

Mr. Subramaniam said Mr. Pandey kept misleading the apex court and the State police could not be trusted with further investigation and prosecution. Under Mr. Pandey’s stewardship, the accused DSP M.L. Parmar was entrusted with the investigation into the charges levelled against him and with filing a closure report. In order to scuttle the investigation, the DGP brought another accused, N. K. Amin, into the CID, which was investigating the encounter case.

It could be that senior police officer Geetha Johri, appointed by the court to conduct the investigations, applied for interrogation of Prajapati but she was disabled at the highest level, Mr. Subramaniam said. Further arguments will continue on November 11.