Gujarat HC acquits ex-BJP MP, 6 others in RTI activist Amit Jethwa murder case
Ahmedabad (PTI): The Gujarat High Court on Monday allowed the appeals of former BJP MP Dinu Solanki and six others against their conviction by a CBI court in the case of RTI activist Amit Jethwa's murder in 2010.
Observing that the trial court conducted proceedings with a "predetermined notion of conviction," a division bench of Justices AS Supehia and Vimal K Vyas quashed the CBI court's order sentencing Solanki and the six others to life imprisonment.
Jethwa was shot dead outside the high court premises here on July 20, 2010.
Solanki and six others were sentenced to life imprisonment by the CBI court in 2019 and ordered to pay a fine of Rs 15 lakh in the case of murder and criminal conspiracy.
The high court had later suspended the life sentences of Dinu Solanki and his nephew Shiva Solanki, who was also convicted in the case.
"We reiterate that the entire investigation right from the inception of the offence appears to be perfunctory and prejudiced. The prosecution has failed to secure the confidence of the witnesses," the HC bench said in its order.
The trial court on a "preconceived notion of conviction has analysed the evidence divorced from statutes and legal precedence," it said.
The HC said the trial court was duty-bound to apply the law as written, "not as per its instinct".
"Resultantly the common judgment on order of conviction dated July 11, 2019 passed by the special judge, CBI court...whereby the accused have been convicted for the offence under section 302 (murder) and section 120 (B) (criminal conspiracy) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and are sentenced is quashed and set aside," the HC order said.
The high court further observed that the survival of democracy and the unity and integrity of the nation depends upon the realisation that "constitutional morality is no less essential than constitutional legality."
Jethwa was shot dead outside the Gujarat High Court on July 20, 2010 after he tried to expose illegal mining activities allegedly involving Dinu Solanki by seeking information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
An FIR was then lodged against two unidentified assailants and the investigation was transferred to the state police's Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which later filed a chargesheet.
In September 2012, the high court handed over the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation.
The CBI arrested Dinu Solanki in November 2013.
On July 11, 2019, Dinu Solanki and his nephew were convicted in the case of Jethwa's murder.
The high court in September 2021 suspended Dinu Solanki's sentence pending his appeal against conviction by the CBI court.
Last year, the HC also suspended the life sentence of his nephew Shiva Solanki and granted him bail pending hearing of his appeal against his conviction by the CBI court.
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NIA asks people to share with it photos, videos related to Pahalgam terror attack
New Delhi, May 7 (PTI): The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday appealed to all tourists, visitors and local people who might have any more information, photographs or videos relating to the Pahalgam terror attack to immediately contact it.
The probe agency has already taken possession of a sizable number of photographs and videos showing various aspects of the attack and is examining them, officials said.
NIA, which is officially in charge of the investigation into the terror attack, is keen to examine the content in thorough detail to search for any possible clues to the assailants and their modus operandi, they said.
Tourists and others might have, advertently or inadvertently, seen, heard or clicked some relevant detail that could help NIA unravel the conspiracy behind the unprecedented attack on tourists in Kashmir, officials said.
"It has now decided to scale up its efforts even more intensely to ensure that no useful information or evidence is missed out in its investigation into the horrendous crime against humanity," the NIA said in a statement.
The NIA has urged all such people to call up the agency on 96-54-958-816 and/or 011- 24368800 and share the information.
A senior NIA official will then connect with the caller and arrange for the relevant information/photos/videos etc to be shared with the agency, the statement said.
Several photographs and videos are found to be in circulation on various social media platforms after the terrorist attack, at Baisaran in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, that killed 26 tourists and left several injured on April 22, 2025.
NIA teams have been camping in Pahalgam to examine the attack site for evidence and have also been questioning the witnesses of the horrendous crime, the statement added.
NIA Appeals to People to Share Information on Pahalgam Terror Attack, Releases Phone Numbers pic.twitter.com/tEHN5woMIB
— NIA India (@NIA_India) May 7, 2025
