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SC gives Gujarat two weeks
S. S. Negi/Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, May 3
Seeming to be satisfied with the progress of investigation by the Gujarat police CID’s special investigating team (SIT) in the Sohrabuddin’s fake encounter two years ago, the Supreme Court today directed the state government to submit the final status report in the case within two weeks.

AP for CBI probe

Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh Government is understood to have asked for a CBI probe into the Gujarat fake encounter killing in the context of alleged involvement of state police officials. A communication in this regard is understood to have been sent by the state government to the Centre. — PTI

The court also directed the Gujarat government to file a separate report why IG Geetha Johri, heading the CID earlier, was shifted.

After perusing the government’s action taken report (ATR), revealing the killing of Kausarbi and burning of her body to avoid identification, submitted on April 30 in a sealed cover, a Bench of justices Tarun Chatterjee and P. K. Balasubramanyan said “we desist from issuing a formal writ” at this stage.

“It appears from the records that Geetha Johri has already submitted interim reports. Now, an allegation has been made that she has been taken off the investigation for some personal reasons. The state of Gujarat is directed to submit a report in this regard also,” the court said, while fixing the next hearing for May 15 in the case.

The apex court was earlier informed by additional-solicitor general Gopal Subramaniam, who is appointed amicus curiae in the case, that Johri had submitted four reports to the Gujarat government on the progress of investigation but only one of them was placed on record.

But Gujarat government counsel K. T. S. Tulsi said he had no objection to placing on record the remaining three reports of Johri and the same would be submitted to the court on the next hearing.

Though the UPA government has been pressing for a CBI probe in the case, which also has taken a political turn, the investigation by the agency now entirely depend upon the final report of the Gujarat government.

The court, in its seven-page order, recorded that the “body of Kausarbi was disposed off by burning it in Illol village, Sabarkantha district. The fact has been brought on record in the ATR submitted on April 30.”

The order also brought on record a new fact that Sohrabuddin’s another brother Nayabuddin was an accused in a case along with Tulsiram Prajapati, an associate of the former and allegedly killed in another fake encounter. Sohrabuddin and Prajapati faced several cases of extortion and arms Act in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.