A local court here granted 25 days time to the CBI to reply on a plea seeking to make former Gujarat minister Amit Shah and ex-DGP K R Kaushik accused in the 2004 Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case.
The plea was moved by Gopinath Pillai, father of one of the deceased of the encountered Pranesh Pillai alias Javed Sheikh before special CBI Judge Geeta Gopi.
Today, appearing before the court, the CBI advocate sought 30 days time to consider the plea.
Opposing this, victim's advocate Shamshad Pathan told the court, "When CBI has all the evidence against those accused persons, why the probe agency needs time."
"This is a crucial time when the elections are being conducted and their (Shah and Kaushik) free movements can cause harm," advocate Pathan said further.
Reacting, CBI court told the victim's lawyer to refrain himself from addressing those persons as accused when prosecution has not yet decided on the plea.
Special CBI judge Geeta Gopi also said law and order problem can prevail if hearing on this issue is conducted in this crucial time.
Senior Advocate S V Raju has appeared for Amit shah, while advocate J R Dave appeared for cop K R Kaushik.
After hearing the prosecution and the applicant, the CBI court granted time till April 21.
Earlier on March 14, the court issued the notice to Shah, Kaushik and the probe agency CBI in connection with the case.
The application filed under section 319 and 193 of CRPC demanded to arraign K R Kaushik and Amit Shah as accused and hold a trial against them for the criminal conspiracy, illegal confinement and murder of the deceased.
CRPC sections 319 and 193 stand for the legal provision to make accused if in the course of court trial substantial evidences appeared against them.
The CBI, in its two charge sheets ,filed in the case has not made prominent Narendra Modi aide Shah and Kaushik, who was then commissioner of police of Ahmedabad as accused in the case.
Ishrat was murdered along with her friend Javed Sheikh alias Pranesh Pillai, in Gujarat and two others, believed to be Pakistani nationals on June 15, 2004 by state police officers.
The applicant while putting forth the grounds to make the two accused in the case, said, "IPS office Girish Singhal, and other police officers Bharat Patel and D H Goswami in their statements have alleged the role of Amit Shah in the encounter case."
On February 5 this year, ten years after the encounter, CBI had filed the supplementary charge sheet and named former IB director Rajinder Kumar as the main conspirator in the case.
While other IB officers Tushar Mittal, M K Sinha and Rajiv Vankhede has also been named as accused with charges of criminal conspiracy and illegal confinement of victims.
In its first charge sheet filed in the case on July 3 last year, CBI had named the four IB officers but not identified them as suspects, while terming the encounter as fake and a joint operation by IB and Gujarat Police.
In the first charge sheet, the CBI had named IPS officers D G Vanzara, P P Pandey, Girish Singhal, besides Tarun Barot, N K Amin, J G Parmar and Anju Chaudhary, as accused.