2 Acquitted In 2002 Gujarat Mob Attack Case

A sessions court in Mumbai acquitted two suspects in the 2002 Best Bakery case, in which 14 people were killed in a mob attack.

Harshad Solanki and Mafat Gohil were acquitted on all the charges by Additional Sessions Judge M G Deshpande.

In the first phase of the trial in the Best Bakery case, the Mumbai sessions court convicted nine of the 17 defendants accused of murder in February 2006.

The Bombay High Court acquitted five of those convicted for lack of evidence in 2012 but upheld the convictions of four others who had been sentenced to life in prison by the trial court.

On March 1, 2002, two days after the Godhra massacre, a mob looted and burned down Best Bakery in Vadodara, killing 14 people.

The Muslims inside, including the Shaikh family who managed the bakery, were targeted by the mob.

Following the completion of the trial in a local court in 2003, as many as 19 persons were acquitted. The Gujarat High Court later confirmed their acquittal.

Zahirabibi Shaikh, one of the victims, and an NGO filed an appeal with the Supreme Court.

She had petitioned the Supreme Court to vacate the judgments and decisions of the trial court and the Gujarat High Court.

The Supreme Court accepted the request and remanded the case to Maharashtra, ordering a retrial and reinvestigation by the police.

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