Poonam Chand Solanki is an Indian lawyer, practicing in Rajasthan High Court, Jodhpur. He acted as counsel for a 16-year-old girl who was raped by self-styled godman Asaram and won a conviction against Asaram Bapu in the Jodhpur trial court on 25 April 2018; Asaram Bapu was convicted under section 376 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act (POCSO).
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Poonam Chand Solanki, also known as PC Solanki, was born in 1973 (age 50 years; as of 2023) in Jodhpur city, Rajasthan, India. He did his schooling at the Central School (now known as KV No. 1 Air Force School, Jodhpur). He joined Jai Narayan Vyas University (JNVU), Jodhpur, to pursue B.Com and LLM. After completing her post graduation in law, Poonam Chand joined the Bar Council of Rajasthan in 1996. Although Poonam Chand Solanki belonged to a financially weak family, her parents ensured that all their children received good education.
Physical Appearance
Height (Approx): 5′ 8″
Hair Color: Salt and Pepper (dyed black)
Eye colour: black
Family
parents and siblings
Poonam Chand Solanki’s father, Shiv Ram Solanki (Kheraj Ram Solanki), is a former railway mechanic. His mother’s name is Aichuki Devi. He has three sisters.
Poonam Chand Solanki with her mother
wife and children
Poonam Chand Solanki is married and has a son.
Religion
He follows Hindu religion.
Caste
He belongs to a tailor (tailor) family.
livelihood
Associated with the Bar Council of Rajasthan in 1996, Poonam Chand Solanki started practicing law in a sessions court in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. After fighting several ordinary cases, the first big moment in his life came in 2002, when he filed a PIL in the Rajasthan High Court against the immersion of Lord Ganesha idols made of plaster of Paris near Gulab Sagar. Historic clock tower. In the petition, he argued that the immersion of the idols polluted the water, resulting in the death of thousands of fish in the Gulab Sagar. While hearing the petition, Rajasthan High Court banned the immersion of idols in the lake. In this matter, Poonam Chand received many threats from Shiv Sena and other Hindu organizations. After a two decade long career in advocacy, Solanki has fought many battles in various courts, from trial courts to sessions courts, high courts and the Supreme Court.
asaram bapu rape case
On 29 November 2013, a case was registered in the Rajasthan High Court, Jodhpur against Asaram Bapu for raping a minor girl from Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh. Apparently, the parents of the minor girl had deep faith in self-styled saint Asaram Bapu. Apparently, once a disciple of Asaram told the girl’s parents that she was possessed by an evil spirit and that they should go to Asaram to drive him away. When the parents of the minor girl took her to Asaram for treatment, he raped her. Unhappy with the initial progress of the case, the girl’s parents approached Poonam Chand Solanki in January 2014 to take up the matter. Talking about this in an interview, Solanki said,
He requested me to take the case but said he did not have money to pay my fees. It didn’t matter to me at all. After listening to him, I became determined to get justice. Fighting cases is my livelihood but there comes a time in life when an issue becomes more important than necessary. I fought this case for justice and truth.
As the case progressed, Solanki was lured with crores of rupees. However, he remained undeterred. He even received death threats several times. However, nothing could sway his resolve to ensure justice to the minor girl. Nine key prosecution witnesses were attacked, three shot dead and one missing after being stabbed outside the court. Everyone who stood against Asaram – the victim, the investigating police officer, the prosecution lawyer or the judge – received threats. Speaking to the media, Poonam Chand said that she was unaffected by Asaram’s threats and said,
Yes, there were threats. They wanted to woo me. Everything was there but nothing affected me because I was only focusing on the issue… Those people used to come, many people used to say and do. Now what can anyone say about the figures? But in reality all this had nothing to do with me. I was just concerned about the matter and just wanted to proceed as per the provisions of the law.”
As the sole prosecution lawyer, he fought against several high-profile lawyers defending Asaram Bapu. Legal luminaries defending Asaram included Ram Jethmalani, Salman Khurshid, Subramanian Swamy and KTS Tulsi. Talking about this in an interview, Solanki said,
Yes of course, Ram Jethmalani ji appeared before the Hon’ble High Court to argue Asaram’s bail plea under Section 4(39) CrPC, Subramanian Swamy appeared before the Trial Court under Section 4(39) to argue his bail plea. Then appeared before KTS Tulsi trial. The court challenged the amendment of the special PP on the ground that their name is not notified in the Gazette…”
During the proceedings of the case, when Solanki pointed him to Section 27 of the POCSO Act, Jethmalani recused himself from the case. Apparently, Jethmalani had objected to the medical examination of the rape victim before the FIR was registered. However, he was left speechless when Solanki argued that Jethmalani had either not followed the POCSO Act or ignored Section 27. After Jethmalani walked out of the case, Subramanian Swamy took over the matter; Although Swamy was not a lawyer, he was allowed to argue cases in court by the Supreme Court and High Courts. When Swamy boasted of exposing several scams and leading several governments, Solanki stopped him by citing the HS Rastogi case. Solanki argued in the court that as per the Supreme Court judgments in the HS Rastogi case, Asaram had not given any prior notice to the court that Swamy would be arguing his bail plea. He further said,
What if the court rejects the bail plea and Asaram claims the next day that he has not authorized Swamy to argue his bail plea?
Soon Asaram was brought from jail and an application was filed in the court. Swamy was deeply disappointed that Asaram’s bail plea was rejected by the court. Swamy, who had earlier claimed that he had never lost a single bail plea in his life, suddenly left the case and despite promising Asaram that he would return, he never returned to the case. During a hearing of the case, Solanki chided former Union minister Salman Khurshid, who had sought bail for Asaram on the grounds of serious illness. However, Solanki convinced the court to ascertain Asaram’s medical condition by constituting a medical board. The board exposed Asaram’s lies and his bail plea was rejected by the court. The final verdict in the case was pronounced in favor of the minor girl on 25 April 2018, convicting Asaram and his two associates, Gurukul warden Shilpi and Gurukul director Sharad, in the case.
Facts/General Knowledge
- In her spare time, Poonam Chand likes to write books. He has written various law books. He is also fond of teaching.
- Solanki has a 2004 model Alto car.
- Solanki considers former Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court Bhagwati Prasad Sharma as his guru.
- In an interview, Poonam Chand shared that the family of the minor girl (victim of the Asaram Bapu rape case) had approached her when several lawyers demanded a huge amount of money to take up their case, and when Solanki was arrested by the family When he came to know about the financial condition of the company, he contacted him. Agreed to fight it for free. He said,
I did not take even a single penny as fees for fighting the case. As far as expenses are concerned, they were given to me… I went to Delhi eight times. So I gave him the details of whatever allegations were related to him. I had to go to the Supreme Court on short notice. Whatever the clerk charged in the High Court for taking certified copies, there were many certified copies in the trial court too, it was around Rs 7000-8000, that was all the money. Otherwise, I did not take a single penny as fees.
- On 23 May 2023, a courtroom drama Hindi film titled Sirf Ek Banda Kafi Hai was released on ZEE5, which was based on the Asaram Bapu rape case. Manoj Bajpayee played the role of Poonam Chand Solanki in the film. The film was directed by Apoorva Singh Karki and written by Deepak Kingrani. In an interview, while talking about playing the character of Poonam Chand Solanki in the film Sirf Ek Banda Kafi Hai, Manoj Bajpayee said,
Playing the role of PC Solanki in ‘Sirf Ek Banda Kaafi Hai’ has been an incredible experience as it is an inspiring story of an ordinary man who fought an extraordinary case against all odds for truth and justice. With the trailer releasing today, I hope it will resonate with the audience and compel them to watch this story of triumph and what PC Solanki had to go through to achieve what he did.
Manoj Bajpayee played the role of Poonam Chand Solanki in a scene from Sirf Ek Banda Kafi Hai
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn