Rejecting the plea for a CBI probe into the fake-encounter death of Sohrabuddin Sheikh and his wife Kausar Bi in Gujarat, the Supreme Court today asked investigating officer Geetha Johri to report directly to it and not take orders from the state DGP.

“The investigating agency shall submit report on the investigation to this court only and there is no necessity to take permission from the DGP, Gujarat. Nor shall the DGP interfere with the investigation to be conducted by the investigating agency,” said the Bench of Justices Tarun Chatterjee and P K Balasubramanyan.

It asked for a final report from Johri’s team on July 3 and posted the next hearing for July 16. During the last hearing, Gujarat had informed the Supreme Court that investigation in the matter would be concluded in four-to-six weeks.

The court also noted that “no proof of death” of Kausar Bi, Sohrabuddin’s wife, had been placed before it although the state had submitted that she too was killed. It said Kausar Bi should be described as a “missing person”, adding that “... under the law, there is a presumption that if the dead body is not found or the person concerned is not found for a period of seven years, only then the said person can be presumed to be dead.”

Accepting the submissions earlier made by the counsel for Gujarat, K T S Tulsi, that the final report would be submitted within six weeks, the Bench noted, “It is difficult for us to come to a conclusion at this stage that the investigations are not proceeding towards the right direction.”

... contd.