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Solanki and Gohil were arrested in 2013 and had been under police custody while the trial took place in the Mumbai Court.
Two individuals, Harshad Solanki and Mafat Gohil, who were arrested in relation to the Best Bakery case connected to the Gujarat communal riots in 2002, were acquitted by a special court in Mumbai.
The court, presided over by Special CBI Judge MG Deshpande, acquitted the two of them and ordered their immediate release.
The case stemmed from the burning of a bakery in Vadodara during the 2002 Gujarat riots, which resulted in the deaths of 14 people.
Zaheera Sheikh, the daughter of the bakery owner, filed a complaint against 21 individuals. The local police arrested all the accused, and a fast-track court in Vadodara conducted the trial.
In June 2003, 19 of the accused were acquitted due to insufficient evidence, as key witnesses, including the complainant, changed their statements. The remaining two accused, Solanki and Gohil, were discharged.
Teesta Setalvad and Zaheera Sheikh subsequently approached the Supreme Court, which, in 2004, ordered a retrial of the case and transferred it to Mumbai to ensure fairness and justice.
While the other accused were being tried, Solanki and Gohil were arrested in the Ajmer blast case, resulting in their being considered fugitives in the Best Bakery case.
Finally, on December 13, 2013, they were taken into custody by the Mumbai police and have been held in prison for the past 10 years.
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