Sohrabuddin Shaikh’s encounter case: On Supreme Court’s call to examine the acquittals
The top court issued formal notices on a special leave petition challenging a Bombay High Court Division Bench’s judgment of acquittal, focusing on hostile witnesses and trial fairness
On September 28, the Supreme Court declined to entertain an intervention application from Maniar Kalpesh Kumar, a Mumbai resident, challenging a paragraph in the High Court's judgment confirming the acquittal of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the 2005 fake-encounter case involving Sohrabuddin Shaikh, his wife Kausar Bi, and associate Tulsiram Prajapati.
The Supreme Court had issued formal notices on a special leave petition filed by Shaikh's brother, Rubabuddin Shaikh, against the High Court's judgment of May 7, 2026, which acquitted 22 police officials and one civilian accused of the murders. The Bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana expressed interest in scrutinizing the impact of 92 hostile witnesses during the trial.
The High Court had ruled that a presumption of innocence in favor of the accused did not justify overturning the Special Court's verdict merely on the ground that another interpretation was possible, stating that an acquittal could only be challenged in exceptional circumstances to "correct manifest illegality or prevent gross miscarriage of justice."
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