A special CBI court in Ahmedabad has discharged former police officers DG Vanzara and NK Amin in the Ishrat Jahan alleged fake encounter case.

Earlier, both the officers had filed discharge applications in the court after the Gujarat government refused to grant sanctions to the CBI to prosecute the two former police officers.

Special CBI court judge JK Pandya said that since the government has not sanctioned their prosecution, their discharge pleas are allowed and proceedings against them will be dropped in the case.

Under section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the government’s sanction is necessary for the prosecution of a public servant for an act done as part of the official duty.

Ishrat, from Mumbra near Mumbai, Javed Shaikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Amjadali Akbarali Rana and Zeeshan Johar were killed by Gujarat police in an alleged fake encounter on the outskirts of Ahmedabad on 15 June, 2004. The police had claimed they were terrorists and come to Gujarat to kill the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi.