In a significant development, the Gujarat High Court has granted conditional bail to nine police constables who were serving life sentences for their involvement in the high-profile 2018 kidnapping and cryptocurrency extortion case of Surat-based businessman Shailesh Bhatt. The decision came on Tuesday from a division bench hearing the appeals against their conviction.
The Court's Rationale for Granting Bail
A division bench comprising Justice Ilesh Vora and Justice R T Vachhani suspended the substantial sentences of the convicted constables pending the final hearing of their appeals. The bench expressed a prima facie view that the evidence primarily supported a conviction for kidnapping, which carries a maximum sentence of three years, rather than the more severe charges under which they were sentenced to life imprisonment.
The court noted, "We are of the prima facie view that, at the most, as held by the trial court, the applicant constables are guilty of the offence of kidnapping for which the sentence of 3 years is awarded to them." The judges found considerable merit in the defense's argument that there was insufficient evidence to sustain their conviction under Section 364A (kidnapping for ransom) read with Section 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.
Highlighting the practical delays in the judicial process, the bench added, "In such circumstances, when there are bleak or remote chances of an early hearing of the appeal and in the absence of any previous conviction, the case is made out for exercising judicial discretion, granting the bail and order of suspending substantial sentence pending the appeals." The court also took official notice of the fact that one of the convicted constables, Noorbhai Sirman, had passed away while in jail.
Recap of the 2018 Cryptocurrency Extortion Case
The case, which sent shockwaves through Gujarat, dates back to February 2018. The victim, businessman Shailesh Bhatt, was allegedly kidnapped by a team of police personnel from Amreli district and confined at a location known as Keshav Farm near Gandhinagar on February 11, 2018.
The conspiracy had its roots in a prior financial dispute. Bhatt had reportedly extracted Bitcoins from an individual named Dhaval Mavani after investing a massive sum in a Surat-based firm that suddenly shut down. This information allegedly reached former BJP MLA Nalin Kotadiya and the then Amreli superintendent of police, Jagdish Patel, who conspired to extort the cryptocurrency from Bhatt.
The kidnapping team was said to include Amreli local crime branch inspector Anant Patel. In total, 14 persons were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by an anti-corruption court in August last year. All the accused had subsequently appealed the verdict in the High Court.
Implications and Next Steps
The bail order marks a pivotal moment in this long-running legal saga but does not equate to an acquittal. The core appeals against the life imprisonment conviction are still pending and await a final hearing in the Gujarat High Court. The bail is conditional and granted specifically in light of the unlikely prospect of an early appeal hearing.
This case remains one of the most notorious in Gujarat's recent history, uniquely intertwining allegations of police criminality, political corruption, and the then-emerging, largely unregulated world of cryptocurrency. It highlighted how digital assets like Bitcoin could become targets for extortion by organized groups, including those within law enforcement.
The court's decision to grant bail will undoubtedly be scrutinized, as the victims and the prosecution seek to uphold the original life sentences. The final outcome of the appeals will determine whether the nine constables return to prison or see their sentences reduced, bringing a complex chapter of crime and justice closer to its conclusion.
