CBI Court Quashes Proceeding Against D G Vanzara, Narendra K Amin In Ishrat Jahan Encounter Case

A special CBI court today (2 May) quashed proceedings against ex-DIG D G Vanzara and ex-Superintendent of Police Narendra K Amin in the Ishrat Jahan encounter case after the CBI couldn’t get government sanction for moving ahead with prosecution, reports Deccan Herald.

Section 197 of the code of criminal procedure (CrPc) mandates that government sanction be sought for prosecuting a government servant.

Although the CBI had initially claimed that there was no need to seek sanction in the present case, it decided to leave it to the court of special judge J K Pandya to interpret the law in the present case, and thus did not oppose the pleas of Vanzara and Amin to be discharged in the absence of sanction.

On the other hand, Ishrat Jahan’s mother Shamima Kauser did oppose the pleas, contending that there was no need to seek sanction. Her counsel also argued that the request for sanciton had been rejected mechanically and without application of mind by the Gujarat government. The court rejected these arguments.

The Ishrat Jahan encounter took place in 2004, when Ishrat Jahan and three people along with her, including two Pakistani nationals, were shot dead by Gujarat police. Authorities asserted that the group was part of a Lashkar-e-Toiba module planning to assassinate the then chief minister of the state, Narendra Modi.

Vanzara and Amin were previously also accused in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case, but were acquitted by a special court in Mumbai last year.

Also Read: Sohrabuddin Encounter Case: All 22 Accused Including Gujarat, Rajasthan Cops Acquitted By Special CBI Court