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Sachin Andure granted bail by Bombay High Court in Dr Narendra Dabholkar murder case

Court stays life sentence, says evidence against him is extremely weak

Mumbai – The Bombay High Court on Tuesday granted bail to Sachin Andure, one of the convicts in the 2013 murder of rationalist Dr Narendra Dabholkar, and stayed the life imprisonment sentence imposed on him by a Pune special court.

Bail order and background

A division bench of Justices Sarang Kotwal and Ranjit Singh Bhosale passed the order on 18 August. Andure had been in custody since 2018. Co-accused Sharad Kalaskar was granted bail by the same court earlier on 29 April this year. Both had been convicted and sentenced to life by the Pune special court in May 2024 and challenged the verdict before the High Court.

ALSO READ | Sharad Kalaskar granted bail in Dr Dabholkar murder case

Advocates for Andure sought a stay on the sentence and bail until the final decision in the appeal. The court accepted the request.

The Case

Dr Dabholkar, founder of the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti, was shot dead by motorcycle-borne assailants in Pune on August 20, 2013. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) took over the probe in 2014.

In May 2024, the Pune special court convicted Andure and Kalaskar of murder and sentenced them to life. The court, however, held that the separate UAPA charges against them could not be proved. Three other accused — Dr Virendra Singh Tawade, advocate Sanjiv Punalekar and Vikram Bhave — were acquitted.

High Court’s Observations

While granting bail, the High Court observed that a cursory examination of the evidence showed it was extremely weak and that there was a good possibility of Andure being acquitted in the appeal.

The court also expressed doubts about the CBI’s method of establishing his identity — showing his photograph to witnesses without conducting a proper Test Identification Parade. Andure’s lawyers argued that the appeal could take considerable time and it would not be proper to keep him in jail indefinitely. 

Senior advocate Nitin Pradhan, along with advocates Shubhada Khot, Siddhavidya and Virendra Ichalkaranjikar, represented Andure in court.

Sanatan Sanstha’s Reaction

Sanatan Sanstha spokesperson Abhay Vartak described the order as a victory of truth. He said the High Court had rejected the Dabholkar family’s opposition to bail and that the decision exposed the conspiracy to falsely implicate the organisation and devout Hindu activists, as well as the hollowness of the investigating agencies. The organisation expressed confidence that both activists would be acquitted in the final hearing.

Advocate Nitin Pradhan’s Remarks

Senior advocate Nitin Pradhan, who represented Andure in the High Court, said the court’s decision has brought justice to those falsely implicated. He noted that the investigating agencies failed to find the real killers and that the court did not accept a single piece of evidence against Andure. Full justice, he added, will come only when the accused are acquitted.

Advocate Virendra Ichalkaranjikar’s Statement

Advocate Virendra Ichalkaranjikar, who appeared for Andure, said the defence had argued before the sessions court that the three key witnesses appeared to be bogus, but those points were not considered. The same points formed the basis of the High Court’s decision to grant bail, raising questions about why the sessions court judge had ignored them.

Dr Amit Thadani’s Comment

Surgeon and author Dr Amit Thadani noted that the High Court’s observations matched what he had written in his book ‘The Rationalist Murders’, and covered in several podcasts. He said the evidence against Andure was so weak that the court itself had indicated a likelihood of acquittal.

Source: Sanatan Prabhat

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