The Gujarat high court on Tuesday granted anticipatory bails to close aides of former minister Amit Shah, against whom non-bailable warrants were issued in connection with the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case.
Justice R.H. Shukla granted bail to Yashpal Chudasama and Ajay Patel, who were declared absconding accused after they failed to appear before the CBI despite several warrants.
Following the order, they will have to be present before the CBI at its office in Gandhinagar or Mumbai.
The duo, close aides of former Gujarat minister Shah and also office bearers of Ahmedabad District Cooperative (ADC) bank, have been absconding after their names appeared in the chargesheet filed by CBI in the case.
Their counsel J.M. Panchal during argument in the high court had contended that Chudasama and Patel were not involved in the fake encounter, which took place in November 2005, and their names cropped up only after CBI took over the probe.
Panchal had further argued that their clients could be booked for attempt to destroy evidence, which was a bailable offence. He had submitted that his clients were not remotely connected with the fake encounter conspiracy, extortion and murder of witnesses as mentioned in the CBI chargesheet.
The CBI had opposed the contentions and said that since a non-bailable warrant was pending against them, anticipatory bail cannot be granted.
It had further submitted that the duo were mainly accused under IPC section 201 (destruction of evidence) which is to be read with offence 302 (murder), 120 B (conspiracy), 364, 365 and 368 (all related to kidnapping), 384 (extortion) and other sections.
It had further submitted that the duo were accused in serious offence of a triple murder involving Sohrabuddin who was killed in a fake encounter, while his wife Kausar Bi and one Tulsiram Prajapati, who were witnesses were eliminated.
According to the chargesheet filed by CBI, Amit Shah directed Patel and another accused Abhay Chudasama, his close confidants, to "convince, coerce, threaten, influence the witnesses on his behalf to conceal the truth from CBI, about the fake encounter of Sohrabuddin."
Patel and Yashpal Chudasama had actively participated in the main conspiracy and the crime committed in furtherance to the conspiracy, the chargesheet had further said.