Overview
- Justice Gita Gopi set aside the 2003 Junagadh sessions-court conviction and five-year sentence, also rejecting the state's plea to enhance punishment.
- The court found the prosecution did not establish illegal confinement, could not link the injuries to a police beating, and did not even prove the date of custody.
- The judgment criticized the trial court for failing to assess evidence under the Arms Act, the Criminal Manual, and the Criminal Procedure Code.
- The case stemmed from a private complaint by Merag Haja, who alleged he was taken during gun searches in October 1976 and assaulted, resulting in a leg fracture.
- Proceedings against other accused were abated after their deaths, and Khandwawala served as Gujarat DGP in 2009–2010 while his conviction remained under suspension.