Amit Shah, 7 others appear in Mumbai court

Sohrabuddin fake encounter case Suspended cops in Gujarat jails not produced.

Eight of the accused out on bail in the 2005 Sohrabbudin Shaikh encounter case, including former Gujarat home minister Amit Shah, were on Friday present in the Killa Metropolitan Magistrate Court on Friday, responding to summons issued to them.

There had been summed to complete initial technical formalities before the committal of the case to a special CBI court in Mumbai as directed by the Apex Court after transferring the case from Gujarat to Mumbai in September. Magistrate A A Khan adjourned the case to November 23 as the accused who are now in jail could not be produced in court.

Advocate Pranav Badeka representing Shah told the court that the formalities would be completed when all the accused are produced in court.

Eleven others accused including suspended IPS officer DG Vanzara and suspended police officer Abhay Chudasama, in various jails in Gujarat, could not be produced in court on Friday. Most of them are in the Sabarmati Central Jail. Chudasama had been transferred to a Nadiad Jail earlier. On Thursday, Sabarmati Jail authorities had said the summons reached them late and they had not enough time to make arrangements for transfer of the accused to Mumbai in time.

As per procedure, the bail of any accused stands cancelled as soon as a case is committed and a fresh bail plea has to be made. In most cases the bail is granted soon after the application is moved.

Sohrabbudin and his wife were allegedly abducted by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad from Hyderabad and killed in a fake encounter near Gandhinagar in November 2005.

Shah, who had to quit the Narendra Modi government soon after abduction and murder cases were slapped on him was arrested by the CBI on July 25, 2010. He had to spend over three months in Sabarmati Jail before getting bail.

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