Arguing for former Gujarat home minister Amit Shah,senior advocate Ram Jethmalani on Tuesday called Sohrabuddin Sheikh a terrorist made a poster boy by rival parties to give the state a bad name. Gujarat is getting a bad name. They are making Sohrabuddin Sheikh a poster boy. This happened in the Assembly election of 2007, Jethmalani argued before a Bench of Justices Aftab Alam and Ranjana Desai. Jethmalani is opposing CBIs plea to cancel his bail granted in Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case by the Gujarat High Court. The senior advocate described Sohrabuddin as a history sheeter and gangster involved in extortion and other crimes,including distribution of arms. Jethmalani cited circumstances when the police want to get rid of people involved in criminal and terrorist activities and referred to the Khalistan movement in Punjab where many people,including some innocent ones,died but the situation was brought under control. But this did not augur well with the court: Dont try to justify the killing in fake encounter. Meanwhile,the Supreme Court questioned Shahs defence that the call details collected by the CBI to nail him in Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter killing case have no relevance as they related to a separate case of kidnapping. The CBI has alleged the call details showing conversations between Shah and DSP N K Amin between November 22 and November 30,2005,clearly indicate that the former minister was involved in the conspiracy to eliminate Sohrabuddin. However,Shah claimed the conversations between him and Amin during the relevant period was in connection with the kidnapping of a boy in which he had sought the help of the DSP who at that point in time was heading the cyber cell. It appears too much of coincidence, the Bench remarked.
