India, Nov. 21 -- The Bombay High Court will start the final hearing in the plea challenging the acquittal of all 22 accused in the alleged fake encounter of gangster Sohrabuddin Shaikh in 2005 will commence on December 5.

The criminal appeal has been pending since 2019 and only four hearings have taken place in the past three years, the division bench of chief justice Shree Chandrashekhar and justice Gautam Ankhad said on Wednesday, while posting the matter under "final hearing" on December 5.

The bench also directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to serve notices to the respondents, asking them to be present during subsequent proceedings.

Shaikh, his wife Kausar Bi and aide Tulsiram Prajapati were killed in an encounter on...