On Thursday, the Bombay High Court upheld the acquittal of 22 accused, including 21 police officers, in the alleged fake encounter killings of gangster Sohrabuddin Shaikh, his wife Kausar Bi, and associate Tulsiram Prajapati between November 2005 and December 2006. The court dismissed appeals from Shaikh's brothers, who argued that the trial was flawed and that witness testimonies were inaccurately recorded. The special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court had previously acquitted the accused in December 2018, stating that the prosecution failed to establish a solid case due to lack of evidence and witness hostility. The case began when Shaikh and his associates were intercepted by police in Telangana, leading to their alleged detention and subsequent murders. The CBI's investigation concluded that the encounters were fake, and the case was transferred to the CBI in 2010 after multiple investigations. Despite the acquittal, the case remains controversial, with calls for a retrial from the victims' family.