New Delhi: The Bombay high court on Monday admitted the appeal filed by brothers of Sohrabuddin Shaikh challenging the acquittal of all 22 accused in the alleged fake encounter case. Among the accused are police officers from Gujarat and Rajasthan who were acquitted by a special Central Bureau of Investigation court in December 2018.The court had observed in its verdict that the prosecution had failed to establish a cogent case to suggest that there had been any conspiracy to kill Sohrabuddin, his wife Kausar Bi and his associate Tulsi Prajapati – and that the accused had any role in it.According to LiveLaw, Sohrabuddin’s brothers, Rubabuddin Shaikh and Nayabuddin Shaikh had in April appealed that either the judgment be quashed and set aside or that the sessions court be directed to conduct a re-trial.Rubabuddin had earlier also requested the home minister, the CBI director and the cabinet secretary to file an appeal against the verdict of special CBI Judge S.J. Sharma.Also read | Sohrabuddin Fake Encounter Case: A Timeline of EventsSharma had expressed sympathy towards the family but said that the prosecution could not prove a conspiracy beyond a reasonable doubt. The court said despite three investigations, the evidence was lacking. Among the acquitted was BJP leader Amit Shah. The appeal against the acquittal stated that Sharma’s judgment was “wholly and completely contradictory to the evidence at hand”.Sohrabuddin, a wanted criminal, was killed in an alleged encounter in November 2005. Three days after that, his wife Kausar Bi was allegedly raped and killed. His aide Prajapati was shot dead in December 2006 by the Rajasthan and Gujarat police for allegedly being a witness to the fake encounter.There were a total 38 accused in the case, but only 22 stood trial and of the 210 witnesses examined, 92 were declared hostile, Scroll.in reported.The two-judge division bench of Justices I.A. Mahanty and A.M. Badar on Monday issued notices to the acquitted persons but did not mention the date for taking up the appeal for hearing.(With PTI inputs)