SC issues notice on plea challenging acquittal in Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case

New Delhi:  The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to examine a plea challenging the Bombay High Court's order acquitting 22 accused, including 21 police personnel, in the 2005 alleged fake encounter case involving gangster Sohrabuddin Shaikh, his wife Kausar Bi and his aide Tulsiram Prajapati.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana issued notice on the plea filed by Nayabuddin Shaikh, brother of Sohrabuddin Shaikh, challenging the May 7 judgment of the Bombay High Court that upheld the acquittal of the accused.

The bench indicated it would examine selected witness statements relevant to the acquittal.

"We would like to see statements of some witnesses. We are not summoning the record. You give us whatever three-four statements you feel are vital. We will examine the acquittal," the CJI said.

Justice Bagchi observed that the fact that 92 prosecution witnesses had turned hostile was a matter requiring consideration, particularly in assessing whether the trial had been fair and just.

"Ninety-two witnesses turning hostile is a concern. Whether there was fair and just trial…that's to be considered," Justice Bagchi said.

The accused include 21 police personnel from Gujarat, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh.

The case concerns the alleged killings of Sohrabuddin Sheikh, his wife Kausar Bi, and his associate Tulsiram Prajapati between November 2005 and December 2006.

The petition was filed by Nayabuddin Shaikh, Sohrabuddin's younger brother, challenging the Bombay High Court's May 7 order. The High Court had upheld a special CBI court's December 2018 acquittal of all 22 accused, citing insufficient evidence to establish the prosecution's case.

The case dates back to November 2005, when Sohrabuddin, Kausar Bi and Prajapati were travelling by bus from Hyderabad to Sangli in Maharashtra. According to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), a police team intercepted the bus near Zahirabad and took the three into custody.

The CBI alleged that Sohrabuddin and Kausar Bi were illegally detained at locations in Gujarat. Sohrabuddin was allegedly killed in a staged encounter near Ahmedabad on November 26, 2005. Kausar Bi was allegedly killed days later, and her body was disposed of.

Prajapati, considered a key witness in the case, was allegedly killed in a separate staged encounter near the Gujarat-Rajasthan border on December 27, 2006.

The CBI alleged that police officers from Gujarat and Rajasthan had conspired to eliminate Sohrabuddin. The accused, however, denied the allegations.

The investigation was initially handled by Gujarat Police before the Supreme Court transferred it to the CBI in 2010. The trial was subsequently shifted from Gujarat to Mumbai.

In December 2018, a special CBI court acquitted all 22 accused, holding that the prosecution had failed to establish the alleged conspiracy or prove their involvement in the killings. Of the 210 prosecution witnesses examined during the trial, 92 turned hostile.

Sohrabuddin's brothers, Rubabuddin and Nayabuddin Shaikh, challenged the acquittals before the Bombay High Court in 2019.

On May 7, 2026, the High Court dismissed their appeals, finding no sufficient grounds to interfere with the trial court's verdict. It observed that the prosecution had failed to establish the alleged abduction and illegal detention of the victims or prove the conspiracy to stage fake encounters.

The CBI had informed the High Court that it had accepted the trial court's acquittal and would not challenge the verdict.