A man who spent the last seven years in jail on charges of murdering a shopkeeper was exonerated by Bombay High Court recently on the basis that there was a ‘strong doubt’ about the truthfulness of the dying declaration of the deceased.

Vasant Ramchandra Gaikwad (44), will now be released from Nashik Central Prison, after a sessions court in 2006 convicted him solely based on deceased John Lazoras’ statement, which was recorded by investigating police officer Firoz Sorabji Ganjia at the hospital.