2005 'fake' encounter of gangster Sohrabuddin Shaikh: High Court upholds acquittal of 22 persons

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Thursday upheld the acquittal of the 22 accused in the 2005 case of the alleged fake encounter of gangster Sohrabuddin Shaikh, his wife Kausar Bi and his aide Tulsiram Prajapati.

A bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad dismissed the appeals filed by Shaikh's brothers, Rubabuddin and Nayabuddin, challenging the December 2018 judgment of a special court acquitting all the accused in the case.

Among the 22 accused acquitted, 21 were junior-level officers from Gujarat and Rajasthan police, who were allegedly part of the teams that abducted the three and later killed them in staged encounters.


The remaining one accused was the owner of a farmhouse in Gujarat, where Shaikh and Kausar Bi were allegedly illegally detained before they were killed.

A detailed copy of the judgment would be made available later.

The special court, while acquitting the accused, had observed that the prosecution failed to establish a cogent case to suggest there had been any conspiracy to kill Shaikh and the others, and that the present accused persons had any role in it.

In April 2019, Shaikh's brothers filed an appeal in the high court. The prosecuting agency, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), told HC last year that it had accepted the acquittal judgment and was not going to appeal.

Sohrabuddin was killed in November 2005 in an alleged fake encounter near Ahmedabad by the Gujarat police. His wife, Kausar Bi, was also killed a few days later, as per the probing agency.

A year later, in December 2006, Prajapati, considered a key eyewitness, was killed in another alleged encounter.

The probe in the case was handed over to the CBI by the Supreme Court, and the trial was shifted to Mumbai.

Sohrabuddin's brothers in the appeal claimed that the trial was flawed and cited instances where witnesses later claimed that their testimonies were not accurately recorded by the trial court.

The appeal sought that the judgment be quashed and a retrial be held in the case.

The special court, in its judgment, had cited insufficient evidence and the prosecution's failure to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

The trial court had said that the CBI failed to prove there existed any nexus between these officers and the local politicians, some of whom were also accused in the case but later discharged.

Shaikh, his wife and aide, who were returning to Sangli in Maharashtra from Hyderabad in a bus, were taken into custody by a police team on the night of November 22-23, 2005. The couple was taken in one vehicle and Prajapati in another.

As per the CBI, Shaikh was killed on November 26, 2005, allegedly by a joint team comprising Gujarat and Rajasthan police, and Kausar Bi three days later.

Prajapati, who was lodged in an Udaipur central jail, was killed in an encounter on the Gujarat-Rajasthan border on December 27, 2006.

Following is the timeline in the alleged fake encounter case of gangster Sohrabuddin Shaikh, his wife Kausar Bi and associate Tulsi Prajapati:

1) November 22, 2005 - Sohrabuddin Shaikh, his wife and associate intercepted by a police team from a bus while they were returning to Sangli from Hyderabad. The police took the three persons in their custody. While Shaikh and his wife were taken in one vehicle, Prajapati was taken in another car.

2) November 22 to 25, 2005 - Shaikh and Kausar Bi kept in a farmhouse near Ahmedabad. Prajapati sent to Udaipur where he was lodged in a prison there to face trial in cases lodged against him.

3) November 26, 2005 - Shaikh killed in an alleged fake encounter by a joint team comprising Gujarat and Rajasthan police.

4) November 29, 2005 - Kausar Bi allegedly killed by the police, who then burnt the body and disposed of it.

5) December 27, 2006 - Prajapati taken by a team comprising both Rajasthan and Gujarat police from the Udaipur central prison. Prajapati killed in an encounter near Sarhad Chapri, situated on the border of Gujarat and Rajasthan.

6) 2005-2006 - Shaikh's family approaches Supreme Court seeking an investigation into his encounter and also to know the whereabouts of Kausar Bi. SC directs Gujarat state CID to conduct a probe into the case.

7) April 30, 2007 - Gujarat state files a report before SC stating that Kausar Bi was also dead and her body was burnt and disposed of.

8) January 2010 - SC hands over the probe into the case to CBI.

9) July 23, 2010 - CBI files a chargesheet in the case.

10) September 27, 2012 - SC transfers the trial in the Sohrabuddin Shaikh, Kausar Bi alleged fake encounter case from Gujarat to Mumbai, Maharashtra. CBI had sought the transfer to ensure a fair trial.

11) April 8, 2012 - SC clubs trial in Shaikh, Kausari Bi and Prajapati encounter cases.

12) October 2017 - Special CBI court in Mumbai frames charges against 22 accused - most of whom were police personnel from Gujarat and Rajasthan.

13) November 2017 - Special CBI Judge S J Sharma commences trial in the case. Prosecution examines 210 witnesses during the course of the trial, and 92 of them turn hostile.

14) November 23, 2018 - Court completes examination of witnesses and recording of statements of the accused persons under section 313 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

15) December 5, 2018 - Final arguments by prosecution and defence lawyers complete. Court closes the case for judgment on December 21, 2018.

16) December 21, 2018 - Special CBI court acquits all 22 accused in the case, citing lack of evidence.

17) January 2019 - Shaikh's family writes to CBI requesting to file an appeal against the acquittal.

18) April 2019 - Sohrabuddin Shaikh's brothers, Rubabuddin and Nayabuddin Shaikh, file an appeal in the Bombay High Court against the acquittal.

19) June 2019- HC admits appeal filed by brothers.

20) October 2025- CBI tells HC it has accepted the special court judgment and won't be filing any appeal.

21) January 16, 2026 - HC reserves judgment on the appeals filed by the brothers.

22) May 7, 2026 - Bombay HC dismisses appeals filed by Shaikh's brothers and upholds the acquittal of the 22 accused.