Ahmedabad: The Gujarat high court has modified a bail condition, permitting three persons to enter their village to cast votes during the gram panchayat elections in Dahod district on April 26 “to ensure that the voting right of the applicants are not trammelled upon”.This case involves Rohit Ninama, his father, Pratap Ninama, and a relative, Sanjay Ninama, who were arrested for allegedly assaulting a villager in Feb. They were released on regular bail by a sessions court in Dahod on certain bail conditions on Feb 28. One of the conditions was restraining them from entering their village — Kalimahudi in Govindguru Limdi taluka — till the filing of the chargesheet.As the gram panchayat elections were announced, the three accused requested the sessions court to modify the bail condition and allow them to enter the village. However, their plea was rejected, following which they approached the HC through advocate Aum Kotwal.While modifying the bail condition and allowing the accused persons to participate in voting, Justice Nikhil Kariel said, “..whereas this court does not find any error committed by the learned sessions court in the orders concerned, yet, it is pointed out that the gram panchayat elections are scheduled on April 26 and whereas while the said aspect was not brought to the notice of the learned sessions court at any stage hereinabove, yet, to ensure that the voting right of the applicants are not trammelled upon, the condition No. (5) imposed by the learned sessions court, Dahod vide order dated Feb 28, 2026 is modified to the limited extent that the applicants are permitted to enter village Kalimahudi, takula Govindguru Limdi, district Dahod on April 26, 2026 between 11am to 2pm for the limited purpose of casting their votes and the applicants shall return back forthwith. Rest of the conditions shall remain unaltered.”
