INDIA BUSINESS WORLD - JULY - AUGUST - 2007
The Month that was ...

GUJARAT TOP COP GETS SC NOTICE IN FAKE ENCOUNTER CASE

THE Supreme Court has issued a notice to senior police officer N K Amin on a petition filed by the Gujarat government challenging the anticipatory bail granted to him by the trial court in connection with the fake encounter killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh.

A bench comprising Justices Tarun Chatterjee and P K Balsubramanyan sought a reply from Amin, DSP with the state CID, and posted the matter for further hearing. Amin has been specifically accused of supervising the disposal of the body of Sohrabuddin's wife Kauser Bi, who was killed two days after the fake encounter.

The court declined the request of Amin's counsel, Nageshwar Rao, that a notice should be not issued without hearing him first. "Don't bother at this stage. We will hear your contention and then decide," the Bench said. The counsel said if the notice was issued, it would have repercussions on Amin's regular bail before the trial court.

The Gujarat government has filed a petition seeking the cancellation of Amin's bail as it had come under sharp attack from the victim's family and Additional Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam, who is assisting the court as amicus curiae, that there was no opposition from the prosecution to the DSP's application for anticipatory bail. They had questioned the role of the Gujarat police for not opposing Amin's anticipatory bail plea.

It was alleged that state did not take steps when the trial court in Ahmedabad rejected the police application for custodial interrogation of Amin, who was suspected to be involved in the entire conspiracy and is a "potential accused"

In another case, the Supreme Court admitted a petition filed by gangster Abu Salem challenging the charges framed against him by a Mumbai TADA court in the murder of builder Pradeep Jain. A bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan sought a reply from the Maharashtra government on Salem's contention that he was charged for offences which was not part of the agreement the Indian Government had entered into with Portugal for his extradition.

Salem and two others - Mohammed Hasan Mehdi Hasan and Virendra Jambh - have been charged under various sections of the IPC, Arms Act and TADA for murder, attempt to murder, criminal conspiracy, extortion and possession of arms. Senior advocate K T S Tulsi contended that Salem was not extradited from Portugal under the charges of conspiracy in the Jain murder and, therefore, he could not be framed on that count. Two other accused, Mohammed Naeem Abdul Rahim Khan and Riyaz Siddique have turned approvers. Jain was murdered in March 1995, allegedly by Salem's hitmen, after he failed to pay the extortion amount.