Ishrat Jahan's family is likely to challenge the Union home ministry's decision not to prosecute four Intelligence Bureau officials in the alleged encounter case.
"I will decide (on the further course of action) after discussing it with Vrinda Grover. But ordinarily it is required to be challenged," advocate I H Syed, who appeared for Ishrat's mother Shamima Kausar, told PTI.
Syed was answering a query on the Centre denying permission to prosecute four IB officials, including retired official, who were allegedly involved in conspiracy behind killing of Ishrat Jahan and three others.
According to Syed, as the MHA did not grant sanction to the investigative agency, charges cannot be framed against the officials, including the then joint director of Subsidiary IB Rajender Kumar along with other sleuths M K Sinha, T Mittal and Rajiv Wankhede.
"As permission under section 197 of the CrPC (a mandatory and prior permission to prosecute any government servant in an offence) has not been granted, charges against the accused (IB officers) cannot be framed," he said.
On Monday, the MHA, after perusing the documents submitted by the CBI, turned down the agency's plea for prosecuting IB officials.
The CBI had submitted its final report in the case to the home ministry, which is the cadre controlling ministry for IB personnel, two years back.
On July 3, 2013, the CBI, the prosecuting agency of the encounter case, had filed a chargesheet and stated that Mumbra-based college girl Ishrat Jahan, Javed Shaikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Zeeshan Johar and Amjad Ali Rana were gunned down in a fake encounter on June 15, 2004, in a joint operation of IB and Gujarat Police.
CBI had chargesheeted seven Gujarat police personnel -- IPS officers D G Vanzara (retired), P P Pandey, G L Singhal, Dy SPs N K Amin, Tarun Barot and J G Parmar along with commando Anaju Chaudhary for murder and criminal conspiracy to eliminate the four persons.
The chargesheet said the whole conspiracy to abduct, confine and kill Ishrat, Sheikh, Johar and Rana was planned by Vanzara, Additional DGP P P Pandey and then Gujarat Subsidiary Intelligence Bureau Joint Director Rajendrer Kumar.
In February last year, the CBI had filed the second chargesheet in the case naming Kumar for murder and conspiracy along with his other three team members in the encounter case.
Kumar was charged with murder, criminal conspiracy, kidnapping in order to murder, wrongful confinement and also under the Arms Act.
Three other IB officers, who were part of Kumar's team -- Mittal, Sinha and Wankhede -- were charged under all the offences except for murder.
The chargesheet was filed before a special CBI court.
Police officers Pandey, Singhal and Amin, who were granted bail by the court, have been reinstated by the state government in police force, while Vanzara retired when he was in jail. He is now out on bail.
