Supreme Court issues notice on Sohrabuddin case transfer

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued a notice to the Gujarat government on a Central Bureau of Investigation ( CBI) petition to transfer the trial in the 2005 Sohrabuddin Sheikh staged shootout case outside the state.

The investigating agency told the apex court bench of Justice Aftab Alam and Justice RM Lodha that since powerful people, including former minister of state for home Amit Shah, were accused in the case, a fair trial was not possible in Gujarat.

The court tagged the petition along with the main matter, which will come up for hearing January 27. The probe agency, in a report submitted in November 2010, pleaded before the court to shift the case outside Gujarat for a fair trial.

Meanwhile, the Gujarat government has also impleaded itself as one of the respondents.