India, June 15 -- In a verdict bringing closure to a 26-year-old trial, an Additional Sessions Court in Pune has acquitted businessman Sayyad Gani Gafur in a corruption and sales tax fraud case, holding that the prosecution failed to establish evidence of conspiracy, cheating, forgery or corruption against him.

The case, registered by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in 1994 over alleged offences committed between 1985 and 1989, culminated in a judgment delivered on June 11, 2026.

Acquitting Gafur, the court observed: "Accused Sayyad Gani Gafur is hereby acquitted from the offences punishable under Sections 120-B, 201, 420, 467, 468, 470 and 477-A read with Section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code and under Section 13(1)(d) read with Sect...