Sohrabuddin encounter case: Delay in kin’s witness recall appeal irks HC

The bench has asked Rababuddin Shaikh to provide legal or statutory provisions that justify his belated request to be recalled as a witness

- Urvi Mahajani

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday questioned Rababuddin Shaikh, the brother of Sohrabuddin Shaikh, over the delay in requests by two witnesses to be reexamined in the 2005 Sohrabuddin encounter case.

The case, in which Sohrabuddin was allegedly killed in a staged encounter by the Gujarat Police, has remained controversial for years.

In December 2018, a special CBI court in Mumbai acquitted all 22 accused in the case, citing a lack of evidence. Rababuddin Shaikh subsequently filed an appeal against the acquittal and in the alternate sought a retrial in the case.