SC reserves verdict on Amit Shah's plea

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved its verdict on a petition by Gujarat’s former minister of state for home Amit Shah challenging the filing of a separate chargesheet by the CBI in the Tulsiram Prajapati killing case. Prajapti was killed in a police shootout on December 28, 2006.  The apex court bench of Justice P Sathasivam and Justice BS Chauhan reserved the verdict upon the conclusion of arguments by senior counsel Mahesh Jethmalani, who appeared for Shah, and Additional Solicitor General Harin Raval who represented the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Shah contended that the chargesheet in the Prajapati case could be a supplementary chargesheet in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh staged shootout and the killing of his wife as both the killings were part of the same transaction (crime). Sohrabuddin was killed in a staged shootout by Gujarat Police on November 26, 2005 and two days later his wife Kausarbi was killed. Since the killing of Prajapti was a part of larger conspiracy and of the same transaction (as earlier contended by the CBI) involving the abduction and killing of Sohrabuddin and his wife, Shah contended there could not be a separate chargesheet against him in the Prajapati case. The apex court Oct 18, 2012 stayed all proceedings against Shah before Ahmedabad CBI court in Prajapati case. IANS