The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued notices to former Gujarat minister of state for home Amit Shah and 18 other accused in the Soahrabuddin “fake encounter” case on the CBI’s petition for shifting of the trial outside the state.
Strangely, the CBI among other things has tried to invoke the alleged “communal scenario” of Gujarat to make a ground for transfer of the case stating that in present situation a fair trial was not possible in the state.
“In a state of ascending disharmony and unrest between religious communities, it is virtually impossible for the justice delivery machinery to render justice objectively and without fear or favour,” the CBI in its transfer petition said.
A bench of Justices Aftab Alam and R.M. Lodha issued notices to Mr Shah and other accused, including some top ranking Gujarat police officers, named as accused by the CBI in its chargesheet.
Senior IPS officers D.G. Vanzara (DIG), Rajkumar Pandiyan (SP), both from Gujarat cadre and M.N. Dinesh (SP) from Rajasthan cadre, were among those issued notices on the plea of the CBI, which preferred the shifting of the case to Mumbai.
While blaming the accused respondents for “consciously” giving “communal colour” to the case, the CBI also could not resist itself from making the same as a ground for the transfer.
“The respondents have consciously given a communal hue to the entire case, thereby polarising religious feelings in the state... It is submitted that a free and fair trial would not be held if the same is conducted in the state of Gujarat,” the CBI’s petition said.
“When the entire state machinery is complicit in committing these atrocious crimes, the CBI, which is already in a minority and on the back foot, would find it difficult to protect witnesses and instil confidence in the people of the state who would be otherwise willing to come forward to testify against the respondents,” the agency in its petition stated.