On Tuesday, June 13, the Mumbai session court acquitted two people charged in Gujarat’s 2002 Best Bakery case. Additional Sessions Judge MG Deshpande acquitted Harshad Solanki and Mafat Gohil of all charges. Both Solanki and Gohil were absconding when the other accused faced trial. A separate trial for them was initiated after their arrest.
Fourteen people were killed in the Best Bakery attack on March 1, 2002. The incident occurred two days after 59 Hindus, including women and children, were burnt alive in a train in Godhra that was returning from Ayodhya. Following the incident, riots broke out across the state.
According to reports, around 1,000 people attacked Best Bakery and killed 14. Several were injured as well. Gujarat Police had booked 21 people on murder charges. Two of them died in prison during the trial.
The matter was first heard in a local court in Gujarat, where all 19 accused were acquitted in 2003. The matter went to Gujarat High Court, which also acquitted the accused. One of the victims, Zahirabibi Shaikh, moved to the Supreme Court, which accepted her plea and remanded the matter to Maharashtra. The apex court ordered reinvestigation by the police and retrial in a Mumbai court.
The matter was concluded in a Mumbai court in 2006, where nine persons were found guilty on several charges, including murder. They were sentenced to life imprisonment. The matter was then called at the Bombay High Court, that acquitted five and upheld the sentence of four.
When the matter was being heard in the Mumbai court, Solanki and Gohil were absconding. Both of them were declared absconding during trial before a Vadodara court. Later, the Mumbai court also declared them absconding. Following their arrest, they were brought before the court in 2013. In 2018, the court rejected their bail plea. The duo claimed in their application that they were unaware of the retrial, and their absence should not be considered as proof against them. A separate trial for them was ordered that began in 2019.
While framing charges against them, the court used the testimony of witnesses given during earlier trials as per the provisions of the law. However, during cross-examination of the witnesses, no evidence was found against them as no witness had deposed about their role in the attack on the Best Bakery.