Mumbai Court Acquits Two accused in 2002 Best Bakery case

A Mumbai court acquitted two of the accused- Harshad Raoji Bhai Solanki and Mafat Manilal Gohil- in the Best Bakery case. Harshad Ravjibhai Solanki and Mafat Manilal Gohil have been in prison for the last 10 years. The accused were sent to judicial custody on December 13, 2013. According to the accused, they, along with 19 others, were earlier prosecuted by a fast track court in Gujarat's Baroda and then discharged in 2003.

The Best Bakery case pertains to a bakery in Vadodara that was burnt down by a mob during the 2002 Gujarat riots and 14 people were killed. The bakery owner's daughter, Zaheera Sheikh, had lodged a police complaint against 21 people.

In June 2003, the fast track court acquitted all the accused in the Best Bakery case due to lack of evidence and key witnesses turning hostile.

With the assistance of activist Teesta Setalvad, one of the witnesses, Sheikh, approached the Supreme Court after the Gujarat High Court upheld the trial court's decision. The Supreme Court ordered a reinvestigation and retrial, transferring the case to Mumbai.

During the period between their acquittal and retrial, two of the accused, Solanki and Gohil, along with two others, were arrested in the Ajmer blast case and were considered absconding accused in the Best Bakery retrial. The retrial in Mumbai resulted in the conviction of nine people out of the 21 accused.

In the retrial, the defense lawyers representing Gohil and Solanki did not contest the deaths that occurred in the Best Bakery case. The prosecution presented witnesses to establish the role of the accused and did not need to prove the entire case.

Among the 10 witnesses brought by the prosecution, four were eyewitnesses, but only three appeared in court. The three eyewitnesses failed to identify Solanki, although one of them recognized Gohil without recalling his name or specific role in the riot.

The defense argued that the eyewitness and Gohil lived in the same neighborhood, making it likely that they would recognize each other even after 21 years. However, they claimed that the witness's testimony was not incriminating evidence against their client.

The special court will announce its verdict on Solanki and Gohil in two weeks' time.