Bombay HC upholds acquittal of 22 persons Sohrabuddin Shaikh fake encounter case

Mumbai, May 7 (PTI): The Bombay High Court on Thursday upheld the acquittal of the 22 accused, all but one junior cops, in the 2005 case of alleged fake encounter of Gujarat gangster Sohrabuddin Shaikh, wife Kausar Bi and his aide Tulsiram Prajapati, noting the prosecution had failed to establish the case.

The HC observed it finds no ground to interfere with the trial court judgment acquitting the accused and added the prosecution case is based on circumstantial evidence and there are several broken links in the chain of circumstances.

A bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad dismissed the appeals filed by Shaikh's brothers, Rubabuddin and Nayabuddin, challenging the December 2018 judgment of a special CBI court in Mumbai acquitting all the accused in the case.