A sessions court at Rajpipla in Narmada district of Gujarat on Tuesday convicted Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA from Didyapada constituency Chittar Vasava and several co-accused in a case involving assault, intimidation and blackmail of forest officials.
Additional Sessions Judge A V Herbara delivered the judgment and sentenced him to seven years imprisonment.
The case relates to an incident that occurred on October 30, 2023, after forest authorities removed illegal cultivation from government forest land and registered a forest crime. According to the prosecution, forest officials were later called to Vasava’s house, where a forester was abused, slapped and threatened. A firearm was allegedly fired into the air to cause panic. The next day, officials were allegedly forced to pay $60,000 in the land of Betha.
The First Information Report (FIR) was registered on November 2, 2023 and the charge sheet was filed on January 30, 2024. Charges were framed on August 7, 2025. During the trial, 17 prosecution witnesses were examined.
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Special Public Prosecutor Amit Nair stated that witness statements, documentary evidence, call logs and bank details proved the role of the accused. He also referred to the recent FIRs against Vasava to defend the pattern of behaviour. The court accepted the prosecution’s case and convicted the accused.
Senior advocate SK Joshi is representing the accused. The requests to summon prosecution witnesses and produce key defense evidence were rejected by the Sessions Court and upheld by the Gujarat High Court on May 7.
The Supreme Court also upheld the high court’s order on May 19. A subsequent application to cross-examine defense witnesses was also rejected by the Sessions Court and upheld by the Supreme Court on May 27, paving the way for final arguments before judgment on June 23.
