A special CBI court on Monday withdrew charges against Gujarat ADGP Geeta Johri in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh and Tulsiram Prajapati fake encounter cases, citing lack of mandatory sanction by the Maharashtra government.
"Prosecution against Johri stands dropped for want of sanction", said special CBI judge M.B. Gosavi, according to a PTI report.
Sheikh was killed in November 2005 in Gujarat while Prajapati, his accomplice and an eye-witness to Sheikh's death, was eliminated in December 2006.
Johri, whose investigation in 2006 proved that Sheikh's killing was a fake encounter, was accused of allegedly destroying evidence and delaying probe into Prajapati's killing.
The woman police offcer, whose probe lead to the indictment of 13 police officers, was accused by the CBI of deliberately not linking the killings to a political conspiracy, according to NDTV.
The chargesheet Johri filed against the accused in a sessions court came in for criticism, after which the Supreme Court ordered the case to be transferred to the CBI.
In 2012, the CBI had requested the Supreme Court to transfer the case to Mumbai to ensure a fair trial in the encounter case.
Johri is the latest to be discharged in the encounter case by the CBI court, which had earlier discharged BJP president Amit Shah last December.
