Former Gujarat minister Amit Shah moves high court for bail

"We have filed bail application of Amit Shah in the Gujarat High Court," his advocate Nirupam Nanavati said. The BJP leader approached the high court after his bail plea was rejected by a special CBI court here last week.

Rejecting the bail, Special judge G K Upadhyaya had observed that there was "eye catching" evidence in the form of statements, recorded under CrPc, against Shah and there is likelihood that if the applicant is released on bail, he may misuse his political powers to hamper investigation.

The court had said that letting Shah, a close aide of Chief Minister Narendra Modi, achieve his ulterior goal could in turn prove to be a dent on the judiciary of the state as well as the nation. The former minister of state for home was arrested on July 25 and charged with murder, extortion and kidnapping in the 2005 case. He is lodged in Sabarmati Central Jail.

Senior advocate Ram Jethmalani will appear for Shah, while K T S Tulsi will represent CBI during the hearing. Sheikh, an alleged gangster, was killed on the city's outskirts in November 2005 in a joint encounter by Gujarat and Rajasthan Police. Later, his wife Kauser Bi was also allegedly murdered.