Sohrabuddin case: Court may decide trial date on Sept 3

A special CBI court may commit the 2005 Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter killings case to trial on September 3.

A number of senior police officers have been arrested and jailed since 2007 in connection with the fake encounter killing.

CBI judge H S Khutwad asked the accused police officers, who were present in the court today, to be ready with their lawyers.

Meanwhile, former minister of state for home Amit Shah, who is an accused in the case, filed an application through his lawyer today seeking exemption from personal appearance on September 3 on the ground that he was barred by the Supreme Court from entering Gujarat.

However, his lawyer told the court that Shah could be allowed to participate in the proceedings through video-conferencing.

An application by the CBI, which probed the case and had sought the transfer of trial outside Gujarat, is pending in the Supreme Court.

Sohrabuddin Sheikh and his wife Kauser Bi were killed by a team of Gujarat Police in November 2005. Two years later, 17 people, including four IPS officers, were arrested.

Shah is one of the prime accused and is out on bail on the condition that he cannot enter Gujarat.

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