RUBABBUDDIN SHEIKH Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The writ petitioner wrote a letter in the month of December 2005 to the Chief Justice of India complaining about the killing of his brother, Sohrabuddin, in a fake encounter and disappearance of his sister-in-law Kausarbi at the hands of the Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) Police (Gujarat) and Rajasthan Special Task Force (STF). Taking notice of this letter of the writ petitioner, this Court forwarded it to the Director General of Police, Gujarat to take further action. The CID (Crime) conducted an enquiry and the statements of a number of witnesses, including the petitioner, were recorded.

(2.) The writ petitioner came to know that pursuant to preliminary inquiry of the CID, an interim report about the encounter of the brother of the writ petitioner and disappearance of his sister-in-law had been sent to the Court. The said inquiry was conducted by a team headed by Ms. Geetha Johri, IGP, CID, Crime. Accordingly, it has been submitted that a concerted effort to scuttle the inquiry and destroy the material evidence had started- resulting in another fake encounter with one Tulsiram who was a key link in the alleged murder of Sohrabuddin and was used by the team of ATS and Rajasthan STF to trace his whereabouts. The writ petitioner is apprehensive of the safety of his brother, Nayabuddin who is one of the witnesses in the present case and is named in the FIR in which Tulsiram was arrested.

(3.) Under the aforesaid circumstances, the writ petitioner, by filing the petition under Article 32 of the Constitution Of India, 1950, has prayed for a direction to the Gujarat police to produce Kausarbi and for a fair and impartial investigation in both the episodes by the CBI so that the matter goes beyond the influence of the local police.