Overview

• The CBI told a bench led by Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar that it has accepted the special court’s 2018 judgment acquitting all 22 accused and will not file an appeal.
• The Bombay High Court directed appellants Rubabuddin and Nayabuddin Shaikh to file a chart identifying witnesses with allegedly misrecorded statements and listed the case for October 15.
• The special CBI court in Mumbai had acquitted the accused in December 2018, finding the prosecution failed to prove a conspiracy or establish individual roles beyond reasonable doubt.
• The appellants seek quashing of the acquittal and a retrial, citing trial-record gaps, over 200 witnesses examined with 92 turning hostile, and statements they say were not placed before the court.
• The bench noted issues over protection under Section 197 of the CrPC, and the CBI confirmed no sanction to prosecute the policemen had been obtained.