SC stays proceedings against Amit Shah

Shah is a prime accused in the alleged fake encounter of Sohrabuddin and his wife Kauser Bi by the Gujarat’s ATS in November 2005. The apex court had last month rejected the CBI plea to cancel Shah’s his bail but shifted the trial to Mumbai.

Staying the proceedings before a Gujarat magisterial court,a Bench led by Justice P Sathasivam issued a notice to the CBI and observed that their previous order,which had asked the CBI to “take over” the probe in Prajapati killing might require an ultimate interpretation from them.

The court noted this after senior advocate Mukulo Rohatgi argued that while the court order had only asked the CBI to “take over” the investigation,the probe agency lodged a fresh FIR,which prayer was never allowed by the court.

“How could there be a second FIR in the same case,arising out of the same conspiracy,as alleged by the CBI. CBI only claimed that alleged killing of Prajapati was not only a part of the same conspiracy,in which Soharabuddin and Kausar Bi were killed,but their abduction and murder as well as Prajapati’s murder were one series of acts,” contended Rohatgi. Citing the chargesheet which has for the first time named Shah as an accused in Prajapati case,he added that the proper course of action for the CBI was to file this document as another supplementary chargesheet in the Sohrabuddin case.

“I am not asking the court to quash anything at this stage. I am pleading that the fresh chargesheet should be treated as a supplementary chargesheet in the first case only,since everything alleged was a part of the same offence. My client cannot be arrested twice and go through the rigours once again for the same alleged offence,” said Rohatgi. He said the chargesheet will soon be committed by the magisterial court to a sessions court and then Shah will have to be remanded in custody since the offences were non-bailable.

Accepting his contentions,the court agreed to grant protection to Shah until November 23.