Sohrabuddin Sheikh’s brother Rubabuddin Sheikh on Thursday filed an appeal in the Bombay High Court challenging the acquittal of all 22 accused in the killing of his brother, his sister-in-law Kauser Bi and aide Tulsiram Prajapati in 2005.
In his application on Thursday, Rubabuddin Sheikh said the special Central Bureau of Investigation judge had based his December 2018 verdict on “unwarranted assumptions and manifestly erroneous appreciation of evidence”, Live Law reported. “His actions have led to a substantial miscarriage of justice, and hence interference of this Honourable court [the High Court] is justified in securing the ends of justice.” The plea said the judgement was “wholly and completely contradictory to the evidence at hand”.
The petition said that the CBI court’s verdict should either be quashed, or the High Court should issue orders for a retrial in the case. The trial was conducted in a manner to defeat the ends of justice, the plea said, adding that there is hence a compelling case to be made for conducting a retrial.
Sheikh, a wanted criminal, was killed in an alleged encounter in November 2005. His wife was allegedly raped and killed three days later, and his aide Tulsiram Prajapati was was shot dead by the police in December 2006. Of the 38 people accused in the case, only 22 stood trial.
The final arguments in the case ended on December 5. Out of the 210 witnesses examined, 92 were declared hostile. The special CBI court hearing the case had on December 21, 2018, acquitted all the accused. In its judgement, the court said the prosecution could not prove a conspiracy beyond reasonable doubt. Bharatiya Janata Party chief Amit Shah was one of those acquitted in the case.
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