Gujarat Man Gets 18 Months in Jail for Hurling Sandals at HC Judge

Taking his financial condition into consideration, Magistrate Dhadhal did not impose any fine on Bavaji.

(Image: The Quint)

A tea stall vendor from Gujarat’s Rajkot district was sentenced to 18 months in jail by a magisterial court in Ahmedabad, for having thrown his sandals at a High Court judge back in 2012 after getting frustrated over the long pendency of his case.

Bhavanidas Bavaji was charged under Section 353 of the Indian Penal Code (assault on a government servant to deter him from discharging his duty), on Thursday, 3 June, by Chief judicial magistrate VA Dhadhal of Mirzapur rural court.

What Was the Case?

The police found out that Bavaji ran a tea stall in Bhayavadar. When the Bhayavadar municipality asked him to remove the stall, he managed to secure a stay order against the municipal body from the Gondal sessions court, PTI reported.

Following which, the municipality filed an appeal in the High Court, on the basis of which, as Bavaji claimed, the municipality removed his tea stall.

Eventually, during a hearing on 11 April 2012, the accused threw his sandals at High Court Justice KS Jhaveri. When the judge asked why Bavaji did that, he said that he had done it out of frustration, as his case had not come up for a long time.

Bavaji was then sent to Sola police station, where he was charged under various sections of the law.

Bavaji had claimed in his police statement that with no source of income, he had lost his mental balance, as he had to beg for money just to travel to Ahmedabad for the court hearings.

What the Court Said

Magistrate Dhadhal noted that the act of throwing sandals at a judge is "highly condemnable" and denied Bavaji any benefits of probation (a provision of releasing convicts for good conduct), PTI reported.

The magistrate sentenced Bavaji to 18 months of simple imprisonment, and taking his financial condition into consideration, did not impose any fine on him.

(With inputs from PTI)