Ahmedabad, May 2: The Special CBI Court has dropped all charges related to abduction, murder and criminal conspiracy against two top Gujarat police officers - NK Amin and DG Vanzara - who were once the prime accused in Ishrat Jahan "fake" encounter case. Judge JK Pandya, while citing the denial of permission by Gujarat government to prosecute the two cops, said it was untenable for the bench to maintain the charges against them.

The plea seeking their acquittals were filed by Amin and Vanzara's counsel, arguing before the bench that Jahan was not abducted, and the encounter carried out by the Ahmedabad City Detection of Crime Branch was genuine as the deceased were allegedly sent on a mission by Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) to assassinate the then chief minister Narendra Modi. CBI Court Discharges Ex-Gujarat DGP P P Pandey in Ishrat Jahan Case

The encounter was carried out on June 15, 2004, when Vanzara was heading the Ahmedabad Crime Branch. Ishrat Jahan, along with Pranesh Pillai, Amjad Ali Rana and Zeeshan Johar were killed in the operation.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is probing the case, had adopted a neutral stance on the pleas filed by Amin and Vanzara seeking their discharge.

The agency said it is upto the Gujarat government to grant them the permission to prosecute the accused police officers. The state government's nod is necessitated under section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

Jahan's mother Shamima Kauser had opposed Amin and Vanzara's plea, and submitted a written note before the bench through her lawyer Vrinda Grover.

The petition to drop charges against them, Kauser said, is "untenable in law and unsustainable on facts". She further added that Gujarat government cannot scuttle investigation into the alleged fake encounter case through an unethical use of CrPC Section 197.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 02, 2019 02:50 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).