Ishrat case: Court to hear victim's lawyer in Pandey discharge plea

The court of special judge J K Pandya today fixed October 11, as a date to make submissions, if any.

During the course of hearing, the court had allowed Ishrat's mother, Shamima Kauser, to become a party in the case.

The arguments by lawyers of the CBI and Pandey concluded today.

Pandey, who is currently out on bail, had moved his discharge plea saying that statement of two witnesses against him are contradictory, and had also cited his reinstatement and promotion as in-charge DGP as one of the grounds.

He had claimed that none of the 105 witnesses examined by the court have named him in the case.

Pandey had also said that he should be discharged as he does not have any "direct or indirect involvement in the case," and that the court has not yet taken supplementary charge-sheet on record.

He had submitted before the court that the CBI initiated action against him without taking sanction from the state government as per the provisions of the CrPC.

Pandey had resigned in April as in-charge DGP of Gujarat after his appointment to the post was challenged in the Supreme Court.

Arguing against his discharge plea, the CBI had told the court that it had enough evidences against him.

In the first charge-sheet filed by the CBI in 2013, seven Gujarat police officers were named as accused including IPS officers P P Pandey, D G Vanzara and G L Singhal who are facing charges for kidnapping, murder and conspiracy.

Pandey is facing charges like murder (IPC section 302), criminal conspiracy (IPC section 120(B)), abettor present when crime is committed (IPC section 114), and sections of the Arms Act.

The case pertains to 19-year-old college girl Ishrat Jahan, her friend Javed Sheikh alias Pranesh along with two others being gunned down by crime branch officials in an alleged encounter on June 15, 2004 on the outskirts of the city.