GUJARAT: Ten years after the brutal public flogging of Dalit youths in Gujarat's Una, the Veraval Sessions Court on Tuesday convicted five key accused under the Atrocities Act and related IPC provisions, sentencing them to up to five years in prison.
However, most convicts have already spent over six years in jail and the ruling has effectively paved the way for their release.
The court, presided over by Sessions Judge JJ Pandya, convicted five persons and acquitted 35 others in the flogging case, while the case against a policeman was abated due to his death. The trial against a juvenile is pending.
Accused Ramesh Jadav, Rakesh Joshi, Pramod Goswami, Nagji Daya, and Balwant Goswami were held guilty of a premeditated assault that amounted to caste-based atrocity and unlawful confinement.
The conviction was secured primarily under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, along with multiple provisions of the Indian Penal Code.
Each of the five convicts has been sentenced to five years’ imprisonment under the Atrocities Act, accompanied by additional sentences of three years and two years under relevant IPC sections for related offences, all to run concurrently. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on each convict, with a default clause of an additional ten days’ imprisonment.
Defence lawyer Vijay Kumar said that four out of these five convicts have already served more than six years in jail, while another one has been in jail for the last four years and two months, and will be required to undergo the remaining jail term.
Accepting the defence plea, the court allowed suspension of the remaining sentence, effectively clearing the path for their release.
The fifth convict, Nagji Daya, having served four years and two months, is required to complete the remaining term.
Detailing the prosecution’s case, government counsel Ketan Singh Wala underscored the evidentiary foundation of the conviction. “On the strength of eyewitness testimonies and corroborative medical evidence placed by the prosecution, the court found five accused guilty out of a total of 41 named individuals. One accused had died during trial. The court has awarded the maximum punishment permissible under the Atrocities Act, and directed that all sentences run concurrently, with due set-off for the period already undergone in custody,” he stated.
However, the judgment simultaneously drew a clear legal boundary on the charge of attempt to murder under Section 307 of the IPC acquitting all accused on this count. Defence counsel Vijay Kumar highlighted the court’s reliance on medical testimony in reaching this conclusion.
“The court found no evidence of life-threatening injuries. Medical reports and the deposition of the government doctor established that none of the victims were in danger of death upon hospitalisation. On this basis, the court has acquitted all accused under Section 307,” he argued.
The case traces back to 11 July 2016, when members of a Scheduled Caste family in Mota Samadhiyala village, Gir Somnath district, were skinning a dead animal a traditional occupation. A group of self-styled cow vigilantes intervened, alleging cow slaughter, and proceeded to assault the victims. In a chilling escalation, four youths were stripped, tied to a vehicle, and flogged publicly in Una town.
A video of the incident went viral and triggered nationwide condemnation.
41 individuals were initially named, of whom 40 stood trial after one death during the process. The court ultimately narrowed culpability to five individuals, citing evidentiary thresholds.
Beyond the courtroom, the Una incident had sparked a powerful socio-political movement. Protests erupted across Ahmedabad, Rajkot, and the Saurashtra region, while Dalit mobilization, led by Jignesh Mevani, culminated in the “Dalit Asmita Yatra.” The agitation reached its peak on Independence Day 2016, when thousands gathered in Una, pledging to abandon caste-based occupations.
The case also drew national political attention, with leaders including Arvind Kejriwal, Mayawati, Rahul Gandhi, and then Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel visiting victims and demanding accountability elevating the incident into a parliamentary and national debate on caste violence and vigilantism.