Comedy of errors in court

The drama unfolded in 1984 when Rajkot police arrested a man named Ratilal Luhar in a murder and robbery case.

Ratilal, who has four brothers 8212; Mahendra, Himmat, Narsi and Ganesh, chose to stand trial in the name of his eldest brother, Mahendra.

Ratilal alias Mahendra was subsequently acquitted. However, the state government went in for appeal against the order, following which the accused was convicted.

But this time the real Mahendra, much to his amazement, found himself behind bars.

Chagrined, and justly so, he filed a special criminal application before the Gujarat High Court submitting that he had been wrongly put behind the bars as he was not the real accused in the sessions case for which his younger brother had been tried for the offences under his name.

Ordering Mahendra8217;s release, Justice R K Abichandani and Justice A L Dave said the judgement and order made by the bench in July last year convicting the accused-respondent in appeal and the order of sentence imposed in the criminal appeal be declared non-est and null8217; and therefore stands recalled.