In an interesting turn of events, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday opposed the discharge plea filed by four Gujarat cops seeking their discharge in the alleged fake encounter case of Ishrat Jahan and three others. The cops — Gujarat's inspector general of police GL Singhal, retired deputy superintendents of police Tarun Barot and JG Parmar, and SRP commando Anaju Chaudhary—have sought their discharge from the case on the ground that the state government has not provided the mandatory sanction to prosecute them in the matter. The cops have also sought their discharge on the grounds of parity with two other police officers—DG Vanzara and NK Amin—who have been already discharged from the case on the same ground. Apparently, the investigation agency has opposed the pleas of the four cops contending that the state's sanction for prosecuting them in the case was not required under section 197 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). ALL ABOUT THE CASE Ishrat, a 19-year-old woman from Mumbra near Mumbai, along with Amjadali Akbarali Rana, Zeeshan Johar, and Javed Shaikh alias Pranesh Pillai, was killed by a team of Gujarat police in an encounter on the outskirts of Ahmedabad in June 2004 While the CBI, which probed the case after high court’s order, said it was a fake encounter, the Gujarat police claimed that they were terrorists with plans to kill then Chief Minister Narendra Modi The cops have also sought their discharge on the grounds of parity with two other police officers—DG Vanzara and NK Amin—who have been already discharged from the case on the same ground Under the section, the competent authority is required to grant sanction to prosecute public servants accused of the offence alleged to have been committed while acting or purporting to act in the discharge of their official duty. CBI has also pointed out that the four cops cannot seek the discharge on the grounds of parity with Vanzara and Amin because the role of each accused person is different and the evidence available against each person is also different. The probe agency in its four-page reply to special CBI court pointed: "The CBI has consistently maintained that there is no requirement of sanction for prosecution under section 197 of the CrPC in cases where offence relates to a criminal conspiracy of abduction, illegal confinement, murder, etc". The agency's reply also contained the excerpts of previous court orders wherein it took a stand that in the case involving abduction, conspiracy, and murder, among others charges, there is no requirement of getting prior sanction from the government to prosecute public servants. CBI has also clarified that in the case of Vanzara and Amin, it sought permission from the state government for prosecuting them in the case following a court order. The state government denied the permission to prosecute Vanzara and Amin, who were allegedly key accused in the case, and eventually, the court accepted their discharge pleas.

Stay updated with all the Ahmedabad Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.