In a reprieve to IPS officer Kuldeep Sharma, the Gujarat High Court today quashed the FIR against him in connection with the 1984 Kutch encounter case.

While quashing the FIR, Justice R H Shukla, also rejected the stay on the order requested by the state government.

Based on an application by one Jusab Juma Mokha of Kutch, that five of his family members were allegedly killed by some policemen in 1984, an FIR was lodged this month against Sharma who was then SP of the district.

The Gujarat CID had lodged FIR against Sharma and three others on August 10 this year.

According to the FIR, Sharma and others had been facing charges under IPC sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 365 (kidnapping), 368 (wrongful confinement), 506 (criminal intimidation) besides rioting and other sections.

Sharma, an 1976 batch IPS officer, is currently the MD of Gujarat Sheep and Wool Development Corporation.

In 2005, when Sharma was heading CID (crime), he had written a letter to the then Chief Secretary of Gujarat Sudhir Mankad alleging that former Gujarat Minister of State for Home Amit Shah had taken a bribe from Ketan Parikh, who was an accused in the Madhavpura Mercantile Cooperative Bank fraud.