Gujarat HC acquits 7 convicts in Amit Jethwa murder case

The Gujarat High Court today acquitted seven persons, including BJP leader and former MP Dinu Bogha Solanki, in the case pertaining to the murder of RTI (Right to Information) activist Amit Jethwa. These individuals had approached the high court for their acquittal.

The HC’s divisional bench of Justices A S Supehia and Vimal K Vyas rejected the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) order, which had pronounced a life sentence for all the accused.

The court stated, “The trial court convicted the accused without initiating an investigation. It seems attention was not paid to the case from the beginning, and the accused were presumed guilty.”

Amit Jethwa murder case

Jethwa, an RTI activist from Amreli’s Khambha village, was shot dead on July 20, 2010, outside the high court premises around 8.30 pm.

Jethwa was visiting the HC to file an affidavit that day, which mentioned that his life was in danger.

After his death, Jethwa’s father Bhikha Jethwa filed a complaint naming seven people, including the former MP from Junagadh.

Subsequently, all the accused, including Solanki, were arrested and put behind bars for three-and-a-half months.

Under a high court order, the case was then transferred to the CBI in 2012. Solanki was also granted bail in 2013 after spending about three months in jail.

In 2019, the CBI court convicted Solanki and his nephew Shiva, who were sentenced to life imprisonment and fined ₹15 lakh.

After his conviction by the CBI court, he approached the high court on June 7, 2019, challenging this order.

In September 2021, the HC kept the plea pending, putting a stay on Solanki’s life sentence.

Last year, the high court also stayed the life imprisonment of Shiva Solanki and granted him bail until his plea against the CBI court’s ruling was heard.