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THE GUJARAT High Court gave a clean chit to state BJP legislator and former state minister Purshottam Solanki in a 2014 bribery case Wednesday. It additionally quashed and put aside a Justice of the Peace court docket’s order whereby the offence, underneath IPC part 171E (bribery), was registered in opposition to Solanki and summons was ordered to be issued.
In April 2014, Solanki was designated a star campaigner for the BJP in the state Assembly bypoll. At Jasdan, he was discovered in possession of Rs 2.75 lakh in money, which is above the Rs 1 lakh-limit prescribed by the Election Commission of India. During the inquiry, Solanki couldn’t present a passable rationalization, thereafter the money was seized and a police criticism at Jasdan police station was filed in 2015, alleging that Solanki had aimed to malign the election course of and entice voters.
A November 2015 police inquiry report submitted earlier than the Jasdan Justice of the Peace court docket had acknowledged that no offence, as alleged, was made out in opposition to Solanki. However, the Justice of the Peace in December 2015 had directed registration of non-cognisable criticism in opposition to the BJP chief. This was challenged earlier than the Gujarat High Court in 2016.
While giving a clean chit, the excessive court docket bench of Justice Gita Gopi held Wednesday that components of the offence of bribery was not made out and there was nothing on document “to show that the petitioner (Solanki) had either given or had offered the said amount as a bribe to someone or had accepted the same from anyone, much less any evidence to show that the petitioner had given or had offered any gratification by way of cash amount to any person with the object of inducing him or any other person to exercise any electoral right or of rewarding any person for having exercised any such right”.
Quashing and setting apart the Justice of the Peace court docket’s order in addition to any consequent proceedings which will have been initiated, Justice Gopi noticed that the order was handed “without any basis” and was based mostly on “assumptions and presumptions”.
Relying on the investigating officer’s information of financial institution statements and statements of Solanki, his son and safety personnel, who was then accompanying the BJP chief, the HC verdict acknowledged: “No cogent reasons have been assigned by the court below while directing registration of complaint under section 171E of IPC…”
© The Indian Express (P) Ltd
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