| INDIA LEGAL |July 22, 2019 49ment. The murder of a petitioner in a
PIL and an RTI activist, in front of the
High Court, in the facts of the present
case, amounted to an affront to the judi-
cial system and a challenge to imple -
men tation of an Act of Parliament, with
national repercussions and has to be
viewed seriously. Therefore, it is of ut -
most importance that the case on hand
is thoroughly investigated and properly
prosecuted by independent and compe-
tent officers, so as to inspire confidence
and reaffirm faith in the rule of law.”
T
hat was reflected in the numer-
ous twists and turns in the case
with a tenacious father, Bhikhu -
bhai, fighting spiritedly, backed by a
small, resolute band of activists and a
High Court determined to do justice. At
one point, Bhikhubhai moved the High
Court seeking re-trial on the ground
that 105 of the total 195 witnesses had
turned hostile under pressure from the
BJP leader. By then, the trial had
already concluded. In one incident, a
scared witness under cross-examination
jumped out of the witness box and ran
away after he was told that his son had
gone missing. The High Court ord er ed a
retrial. The case reached the Supreme
Court which restricted it to examining
27 witnesses afresh, including 18 eyewit-
nesses. The High Court also transferred
the case to special CBI judge KM Dave
though the trend of witnesses turning
hostile continued. By one count, the
number stood at 155, including those
who were re-examined.
Once the CBI took charge, investiga-
tions gathered pace. Solanki was arrest-
ed on November 5, 2013, and on Dec -
em ber 21, 2013, the CBI filed a charge
sheet against him. On February 25,
2014, the Supreme Court granted him
bail. According to special prosecutor
Mukesh Kapadia, the testimony of
Rama Haja, Solanki’s driver for 18 years,
was crucial to the conviction. Haja was
moved by the CBI to Delhi and his
state ment recorded under Section 164,
CrPC. He was an eyewitness to the
entire sequence of events—the planning
of the murder, the involvement and role
of each of the co-accused inclu ding the
policeman and the hiring of paid killers.
He also helped locate a crucial piece of
evidence—he testified that Solanki rec -eived a call on his mobile informing him
that the job of killing Jethva had been
completed. The mobile had gone miss-
ing but Haja showed the CBI the place
where the mobile had been buried, and
call data records nailed the strongman.
Bhikhubhai was supported in no
small measure by lawyer-activist Anand
Yagnik. “We filed 35 petitions before the
High Court in our pursuit of justice.
These were powerful people who had
the best legal brains working for them
but ours was a fight for justice,” said the
lawyer who himself testified before the
courts that Jethva had spoken of a
threat to his life from Solanki. Yagnik
was the legal brain behind Jethva’s orig-
inal crusade. He was supported by
Mahesh Makwana, also an RTI activist
and a close associate of Jethva in the
battle against the illegal mining mafia.
The Dalit activist was even assaulted by
goons in 2016. “There are nearly 50 cri -
minal complaints filed against Solanki
and his family members and accompli c -
es but the cops go through the rigmarole
of filing reports and exonerating them,”
he said, adding that he will continue the
crusade taken up by his late friend.
At one point, Bhikhubhai had sought
police protection for the judge hearing
the case. The judgment was delivered
amidst tight security and in-camera.
Those held guilty of murder, criminal
conspiracy and violations of the Arms
Act include, besides Solanki, his nep -
hew, Pratap alias Shiva Solanki, Pachan
Desai, police constable Baha dursinh
Vadher, sharp shooters Shailesh Pandya,
Sanjay Chauhan and Udhaji Thakore.
Bhikhubhai understands well that this
may be a mere punctuation mark in a
continuing battle against both the illegal
mining mafia and the legal battle he is
fighting, but he is determined to carry it
to its logical end, having already earned
a famous victory. As he said: “My son
can now finally rest in peace for he has
got justice after a very long struggle.”RTI activist Amit Jethva (above)
was murdered outside the Gujarat HC
in 2010 after he tried to expose illegal
mining around the Sasan Gir lion
sanctuary. His father, Bhikhubhai (left),
fought a long legal battle.Twitter: @indialegalmedia
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