Ahmedabad, February 24 The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday overturned the conviction and five-year rigorous imprisonment sentence of former Director General of Police S S Khandwawala in a 1976 custodial torture case, deeming the order of the sessions court as "erroneous and lacking merit".
Justice Gita Gopi overturned Khandwawala's September 2003 conviction and five-year rigorous imprisonment sentence by a sessions court in Junagadh under Section 365 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in the 1976 custodial torture case.
The court also dismissed the plea filed by the state government for an increase in the sentence passed by the sessions court in 2003.
In 2003, a sessions court in Junagadh had sentenced Khandwawala, then Deputy Superintendent of Police, to a five-year prison term in a case involving the custodial torture of Merag Haja, dating back to 1976.
The lower court suspended his sentence following his appeal against the conviction and sentence in the high court.
In its judgment, the high court observed that the sessions court's order was "erroneous and lacking merit" as the prosecution failed to prove the case of police custodial torture of the complainant, Merag Haja. The prosecution also failed to prove that the injuries were caused by police custody, and even the date of custody was not proven.
Another accused, P A Raol, died during the course of the trial proceedings, and therefore, the case against him was dropped.
Cases against two other accused, Bhupatsinh Vaghela and Rampalsingh Pawar, who were sentenced to one year of rigorous imprisonment, were also dropped after they died during the pendency of the appeal.
According to the prosecution, on October 7, 1976, Haja's house was searched for possession of a gun, and he was taken to the Porbandar police station.
The next day, he was allegedly beaten by the accused and other four to five persons, after which he sustained a fracture and lost consciousness.
On November 2, 1976, a private complaint was filed against them, accusing them of custodial torture, in which the complainant alleged that he was beaten while in custody and suffered a fracture in his left leg.
He was hospitalised, and was released on bail on October 14, 1976.
In December 1981, the court took cognizance of his complaint against Khandwawala, and on September 16, 1982, registered the case.
Shabbir Hussein Shekhadam (S S) Khandwawala was the DGP of Gujarat from February 2009 to December 2010.