Apex court stays transfer of Ishrat Jahan probe to SIT (Second Lead)

NEW DELHI - The Supreme Court Friday stayed the Gujarat High Court order for transferring the probe into the Ishrat Jahan staged shootout case to the apex court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by former CBI director R.K. Raghvan.

The Gujarat High Court by its Aug 12 verdict, on a petition by Shamima Kausar, had directed the state government to issue a notification within 15 days transferring investigation into the Ishrat Jahan case from the state police to SIT. Shamima Kausar is the mother of Ishrat Jahan and had sought a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe.

The apex court bench of Justice B. Sudarshan Reddy and Justice S.S. Nijjar stayed this part of the high court order after counsel Kamini Jaiswal told the court that unless it was stayed it would lead to complications.

Jaiswal said this after Justice B. Sudarshan Reddy asked what the hurry was as the matter was listed for hearing Sep 6.

The petition by Shamima Kausar is not just confined to the staying of the high court order vis-à-vis issuance of notification, but seeks to challenge the rejection of her plea for investigation into the shootout killing by the CBI.

The petition said the transfer of investigation to the CBI falls within the exceptional situation enunciated by the apex court and also recognized by the high court.

Shamima Kausar said the principles of natural justice required that when the police was being accused of killing Ishrat Jahan in a staged shootout, it would be “reasonable, just and proper” that the probe be handed over to an outside agency.

The petition asked if the high court had not erred in transferring the probe to the SIT. Shamima Kausar’s petition said that SIT was constituted to investigate Godhra and post Godhra riot cases of 2002 and it was being monitored by a special bench of the apex court.

The petition said that in such a situation the Gujarat High Court ought not to have entrusted the SIT with the probe of the case.

It may be recalled that the apex court bench of Justice D.K. Jain, Justice P. Sathasivam and Justice Aftab Alam during the course of hearing of the post Godhra related case of Gulberg society carnage on Thursday last had wondered how the high court could direct the SIT to investigate any other case.

Mumbai-based college student Ishrat was killed in a shootout along with Javed Sheikh and two others in June 2004. The Gujarat police at the time claimed that Ishrat and the three others were LeT operatives on a mission to kill Chief Minister Narendra Modi.