Ishrat fake encounter case: Kumar being ‘protected’ by Centre: Pandey, Vanzara lawyers

Senior counsel L D Tiwari, appearing for the CBI, fumbled before the special judge K R Upadhyay who inquired about the status of the supplementary chargesheet. The judge asked, “Did the court ask you whether you have taken approval or the court took suo motu decision? Who raised the issue (of taking approval)?” Tiwari replied, “I think the chargesheet is against IB officers… I don’t know…,” he said, adding that the issue was not required at this stage.

The court has raised these questions after Vanzara’s lawyer, V D Gajjar, said the CBI didn’t arrest Rajinder Kumar and other IB officials even after filing the chargesheet. He told the court that the chargesheet against IB officials were pending since the CBI didn’t get permission under section 197 of the CrPC that mandates government’s approval before prosecuting a government servant. However, the CBI didn’t wait to seek similar permission in case of Vanzara and P P Pandey. “Why this double standards,” Gajjar asked, adding that his client only served the nation against terrorists.

Appearing for Pandey, senior counsel Nirupam Nanavati argued that IB officials were not touched despite the CBI claiming that the encounter was a joint operation executed by the Gujarat Police and IB officials. He dragged IPS officer Satish Verma’s name, saying that the officer was biased against some Gujarat Police officials as well as IB officials.

The CBI has filed two chargesheets against seven Gujarat police officials, including Vanzara, Pandey and four IB officers for killing 19-year-old Ishrat Jahan, her friend Javed Sheikh alias Pranesh Pillai and two Pakistani nationals — Zeeshan Johar and Amjadali Rana — in 2004 in Ahmedabad.