Ahmedabad constable cleared of Rs 20 bribery case after 30 years, dies a day later

Ahmedabad : After fighting a legal battle that stretched over three decades, an Ahmedabad police constable was finally declared innocent in a petty bribery case – only to pass away the very next day.

Babubhai Prajapati, who was serving as a constable at the Vejalpur police station, had been accused of accepting a bribe of Rs 20 in 1996. Based on this allegation, a case was registered against him under the Prevention of Corruption Act. A formal chargesheet was filed in 1997, and by 2002 the court framed charges.

What followed was a painfully slow judicial process. Witnesses were examined in 2003, and in 2004 the Sessions Court found Prajapati guilty. That single judgment altered the course of his life. Though he continued in service, he was denied promotions, increments and other benefits. The stigma of corruption stayed with him for years.

Determined to prove his innocence, Prajapati approached the Gujarat High Court in 2004. However, like many cases in the system, his appeal moved at a snail’s pace. Years turned into decades as he waited for justice.

During the hearing, his lawyer Nitin Gandhi argued that there were serious inconsistencies in the testimonies of prosecution witnesses. He also pointed out several procedural errors in the investigation that had been overlooked by the trial court. After reviewing the records, the High Court agreed with these submissions.

On February 4, 2026 – almost exactly 30 years after the case was first registered – the Gujarat High Court acquitted Prajapati, stating that the prosecution had failed to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt.

For the first time in decades, Prajapati walked out of court as a free and honourable man. He met his lawyer with visible relief and happiness.

Advocate Gandhi advised him to immediately apply for the service benefits and financial dues that had been withheld since his conviction. Prajapati reportedly replied with emotional calm: “Sir, the burden on my life is finally gone. Now I feel at peace. If God calls me, I am ready.”

Tragically, those words became reality. The very next morning, Prajapati died of natural causes.

Recalling the incident, advocate Gandhi said, “He was genuinely happy after the acquittal. I asked him to complete the paperwork for his pending benefits. The next day, when I called to follow up, I was told that he had passed away.”

The original case had emerged from an Anti-Corruption Bureau trap in 1997, in which three constables were accused of taking bribes from truck drivers near Vishala in Vejalpur. All were convicted in 2004 and later appealed.

While justice eventually arrived for Babubhai Prajapati, it came far too late to restore the years he had lost. His story stands as a painful reminder of how delayed justice can sometimes defeat its very purpose.