Thane Court Acquits Private Firm Consultant in Bribery Case

A Thane court acquitted a 43-year-old consultant accused of bribing a former MLA. The prosecution failed to prove the charges, and the defense argued that the complainant was aware of his influence yet entertained the accused. The court found the evidence presented to be insufficient, leading to the acquittal.

A special court in Maharashtra's Thane district has acquitted a 43-year-old consultant of a private company accused of offering a bribe to a former legislator.

Special ACB court judge Amit M Shete, in the order passed on April 24, held that the prosecution had failed to prove the charges against the alleged accused, Hiten Narayan Solanki, who needs to be given the benefit of the doubt.

A copy of the order was made available on Monday.

Additional public prosecutor Sanjay B More told the court that the accused had offered Rs 4 lakh to former MLA Narendra Mehta to favour his firm for a civic tender.

Defence counsel Ranjit Sangle punched loopholes in the probe and the prosecution's argument.

The court held that the complainant in the case was well aware of his position in the civic body, and despite this, he had entertained the alleged accused. The evidence presented on record by the prosecution was not strong, clinching and trustworthy, it said.

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