Monday, December 13, 2010

HC grants bail to Jirawala in Sohrab case

Court Attributes Limited Role To Arham Bungalow Owner

Ahmedabad: After releasing former MoS Home Amit Shah on bail, a second person accused in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case was ordered to be released from jail on bail by the Gujarat high court on Monday.
The owner of Arham Bungalow, Rajendra Jirawala, was granted bail by Justice ZK Saiyed on the ground that the probe agency CBI has attributed a limited role to him and this is a fit case for bail.



“The prosecuting agency could not prove the main ingredients of a criminal conspiracy— agreement and meeting of mind qua the present applicant (Jirawala) as per section 120B of Indian Penal Code. In criminal law, criminal liability also needs to be considered,” the court observed while granting bail. It also asked whether there was any evidence to show the criminal liability of Jirawala in the present case.
The court has imposed certain conditions on Jirawala while giving bail - that he would not enter Ahmedabad district or Gandhinagar, and would furnish a bond of Rs 1 lakh. He has been asked to mark his presence before CBI once a month.
Jirawala’s counsel, JM Panchal submitted that he was wrongly implicated in the probe agency’s theory of a larger conspiracy. In fact, he was a witness in the probe carried out by the CID (crime) and has always cooperated with CBI in the investigation.
It was also contended on part of Jirawala that he was busy in a social function in Mehsana during the period when the alleged crime had taken place in the last week of November 2005. His counsel, however, submitted that Jirawala was not involved in the case except handing over the keys of the Arham Bungalow near Koba village to the senior cops without knowledge of their intention or further usage of the premises. CBI’s case is that Sohrabuddin and his wife Kauserbi were kept at Arham Bunglow before they were eliminated by cops. Jirawala came to be arrested on July 26, and chargesheeted in October.
There are 15 cops behind bars in this case including IPS officers like DG Vanzara, Rajkumar Pandian and Abhay Chudasama. Two bankers Ajay Patel and Yashpal Chudasama have been granted anticipatory bail by the high court.

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