Mumbai: In an anti-corruption case, the Thane sessions court has questioned the character of the complainant, a former BJP legislator from Mira-Bhayander. The court has also acquitted the accused on the grounds of benefit of doubt.
Stating that the complainant, Narendra Mehta, was mischievous, the court maintained that he dared to depose falsely before the Bombay High Court as well as the Supreme Court.
As per the prosecution's case, in May 2012, a meeting of the standing committee was held in Thane, for selection of tender for Rajiv Aawas Yojana. The accused, Hitesh Solanki, had filed one tender for the same through his firm, Tandon Urban Solutions. It was the lowest bid.
Mehta, however, claimed that Tandon Urban Solutions was not qualified as it did not possess the requisite eligibility for the tender. He requested the chairman and the members of the standing committee to adjourn the subject of granting approval for the tender. Mehta claimed that Solanki had approached him on May 24, 2012, to mention the tender. Solanki allegedly requested Mehta to recommend his name before the standing committee and offered a bribe of Rs4 lakh.
'Mehta Misused His Power,' Says Accused
The accused in his reply stated that Mehta had misused his post and power and had fabricated the documents and implicated Solanki.
The defence advocate for Solanki, Ranjit Sangle, said, "The complainant in the case is an accused in another corruption matter, which is already registered before the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Thane. In connection with the same, Mehta has filed affidavits before the Bombay High Court as well as the apex court and has deposed false [testimony] about his identity that he was a private person and not a government one when the corruption case was filed against him in 2002. The ACB Thane has challenged the same."
Sangle explained the prime reason as to why the alleged bribery case against Solanki was registered before the ACB headquarters. The pendency of one crime against the Mehta in ACB Thane had led the complainant to file the present case with the headquarters.
The session's court while acquitting Solanki held, "The evidence on record shows the character of the complainant, which appears to be that of mischievous as the complainant dared to depose falsely not only before the Bombay High Court but also before the apex court."
In the recent update, the HC had asked the Thane police to conduct an impartial investigation and submit a progress report in a case registered in 2021 against Mehta.
