Gujarat High Court upholds acquittals of accused in RTI activist’s attack

Two criminal appeals were filed — one by the state and another by Boricha, the original complainant — in 2013 before the Gujarat HC after a Bhavnagar sessions court in December 2012 acquitted eight accused in the case.

The accused were facing offences under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 504 (intentionally insults to breach peace), 506(2) (criminal intimidation) and 114 (abetment), section 135 of the Bombay Police Act as well as section 3(1)(x) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act ( intentionally insults or intimidates with intent to humiliate a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe in any place within public view).

Boricha had alleged that the accused persons were making a thorn fence behind Boricha’s house, which the complainant had objected to. The accused then allegedly threatened Boricha with weapons (Dhariyu, Lakdi, Khuhadi) and had hurled casteist abuses.

Upholding the acquittal, the court of Justice RM Sareen reasoned that in the offence under section 3(1)(x) of the Prevention of Atrocities Act, there must be insult against the case in public by the accused, and in the present case, the witnesses are the family members of Boricha.

Observing that Boricha was “habitual to file complaints under the Atrocity Act”, the court observed, “…Boricha had filed several other atrocity complaints against many persons and even the complainant (Boricha) had lost election against the respondent… there are all possibility that the complainant has filed false complaint keeping vengeance against the accused,” the court observed.

The court also took into consideration that Boricha had filed his complaint more than two weeks after the incident and had not provided any reason for the delay.

The eight accused whose acquittal has been upheld by the HC are Mahendrasinh Ajitsinh Gohil, Vanrajsinh Ramdevsinh gohil, Kiritsinh Jilubha Gohil, Devendrasinh alias Devubha Ramdevsinh Gohil, Mahendrasinh Jaydevsinh Gohil, Nareshsinh alias Nirmalsinh Ajitsinh Gohil, Ashoksinh Ranjitsinh Gohil and Ranjitsinh Chhatrasinh Gohil.