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Friday, May 04, 2007
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Court seeks status report from Gujarat on encounter killings

Legal Correspondent

Prima facie case exists for CBI probe; why was Geeta Johri removed?

— Photo: PTI

IN HAPPIER TIMES: The victim of the Gujarat `fake encounter', Sohrabuddin Sheikh, and his wife, who was murdered later. File photo aired by a TV channel in Ahmedabad on Thursday.

New Delhi: Holding that a prima facie case existed for a CBI probe into the encounter killings of Sohrabuddin Sheikh and his wife Kausar Bi, the Supreme Court on Thursday directed Gujarat to file a final status report on the investigation. A Bench, comprising Justices Tarun Chatterjee and P.K. Balasubramanyan, granted two weeks for the State Government to file the report, and directed that the matter be listed for May 15. It would pass final orders after perusing the report.

The Bench was passing interim orders on the writ petition filed by Rubabbuddin Sheikh, brother of Sohrabuddin Sheikh, seeking a probe by the CBI.

The Government already filed three action-taken reports, but the Bench did not seem to be satisfied. In particular, it wanted the Government to respond to the allegation that senior IPS officer Geeta Johri was taken off the investigation for some reasons and to the claim that she had already submitted interim reports. The Bench directed the State to submit a report in this regard also.

In its order, it said, "We are of the view that a prima facie case has been made out for issuance of rule nisi (admitting the case) calling upon the Centre and Gujarat to show cause why the order asked for should not be granted, and also why a writ of habeas corpus should not be issued to produce Kausar Bi in court."

The Bench said, "While this was being contemplated, it was, however, submitted by K.T.S. Tulsi, senior counsel for the State Government, that the body of Kausar Bi was disposed of by burning it in village Illol, Sabarkantha district, which fact has been brought on record in the action-taken report 3 submitted on April 30. Hence, we desist from issuing a formal writ. Report No. 3 may be kept on record."

"Having heard counsel for the parties and after considering the fact that the investigation is now at the final stage, we feel that some more time may be granted to the Gujarat Government."

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