92 hostile witnesses return to the Supreme Court
The court will examine a challenge to acquittals in the Sohrabuddin Shaikh case. It has not overturned them.
The Supreme Court is examining a challenge to the acquittals; they remain in place.
The Supreme Court has issued notice on a challenge to the acquittal of 22 accused in the Sohrabuddin Shaikh case, but it has not overturned the acquittals, ordered a retrial or convicted anyone. The plea was filed by Nayabuddin Shaikh, Sohrabuddin’s brother, against the Bombay High Court’s May 7 judgment upholding the acquittals.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant said it wanted to examine three or four witness statements relevant to the acquittal. Justice Joymalya Bagchi said 92 of the 210 prosecution witnesses turning hostile was “a concern” and raised the question of whether there had been a fair trial. The Supreme Court’s procedural order was not available in the material consulted; the development is based on a published report.
The Bombay High Court recorded that a special CBI court acquitted all 22 accused in December 2018. It held that the prosecution had not established the alleged abduction, illegal detention or fake encounters involving Sohrabuddin Shaikh, Kausar Bi and Tulsiram Prajapati, and said there was no direct evidence of the encounters. The Supreme Court is examining the challenge. The acquittals remain in place, which is still more legal fact than the political machinery usually manages in one sitting.