Bombay HC strikes down gag on media

THE JUDGE SAID THE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CODE EMPOWERS ONLY HIGH COURTS AND THE SUPREME COURT TO ISSUE SUCH ORDERS AND THAT, TOO, ONLY IN RARE CASES

MUMBAI: accused. The trial began in Mumbai on November 29, 2017.

Of the 40 witnesses examined in two months, 27, including drivers of the cars of policemen who allegedly killed the trio, have turned hostile. The prosecution examined the Apte family from Sangli, who were allegedly witness to the abduction of Shaikh and his wife from the bus on November 22, 2005.

Sharad Apte, his wife, and daughter-in-law were on their way to Miraj from Hyderabad, according to the prosecution.

In his deposition, Apte said, “As far as I remember, no incident took place during the journey.”

Apte also refused to accept the contents of his statement recorded before the magistrate court.

The driver of the bus, too, has been declared hostile. “In my two-and-a-half years on the route, I don’t remember any incident,” said the driver.

The agency had claimed Shaikh and his wife had visited a doctor in Sangli for treatment of infertility. The doctor, however, said the couple never visited him. He, too, has been declared hostile.

The CBI’S charge sheet in 2010 had named several police officers and BJP chief Amit Shah, who at that time was the minister of state for home in Gujarat, as accused. The trial court later discharged several accused, including Shah.