Dabholkar Murder: Bombay HC Grants Bail to Convict Sachin Andure, Suspends Life Sentence
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday granted bail to Sachin Andure, one of the two men convicted in the 2013 murder of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar, and suspended the life sentence imposed on him by a sessions court in 2024.
A division bench of Justices Sarang Kotwal and Ranjitsinha Bhonsale allowed Andure's interim application seeking bail and suspension of his sentence while his appeal against the conviction is pending. The detailed order was not yet available.
Andure, who is also facing trial in the separate killing of activist Govind Pansare, is now eligible to walk out of jail as he has secured bail in both cases.
Dabholkar, 67, founder of the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS), an organisation working against superstition, was shot dead by two motorcycle-borne assailants while on a morning walk in Pune on August 20, 2013. His murder sparked nationwide outrage and demands for a thorough investigation.
The case was initially investigated by the local police. Following a petition by Dabholkar's daughter Mukta, the Bombay High Court transferred the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in 2014.
According to the prosecution, Andure was one of the shooters. In May 2024, a sessions court convicted Andure and Sharad Kalaskar for Dabholkar's murder and sentenced them to life in prison. However, the court acquitted them of charges under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Arms Act.
Three other accused — Virendra Singh Tawde, Sanjiv Punalekar and Vikram Bhave — were acquitted by the sessions court citing insufficient evidence.
Andure filed an appeal in the High Court challenging his conviction. In an interim application, he sought bail and suspension of the life sentence. The High Court allowed this application on Tuesday, a decision that legal observers say will be closely studied given the gravity of the offence.
Mukta Dabholkar has also filed a separate appeal challenging the acquittals of the three other accused and the dropping of UAPA charges against Andure and Kalaskar. In her plea, she has alleged that the murder was part of a larger conspiracy by right-wing extremists. Her appeal is yet to be heard.
Dabholkar's killing was the first in a series of murders of rationalists and activists. Govind Pansare was shot dead in Kolhapur in February 2015, Kannada scholar M M Kalburgi in Dharwad in August 2015, and journalist Gauri Lankesh in Bengaluru in September 2017. These cases have been probed by different agencies, and convictions in some have been challenged in higher courts.
The High Court's bail order comes more than three years after the trial court's conviction. Under Indian law, bail is not a routine matter in murder cases, and courts weigh factors such as the nature of the offence, the evidence, and the likelihood of the accused fleeing or influencing witnesses. The detailed order will shed light on the court's reasoning.
Andure's release is expected to take effect after formalities, including furnishing of bail bonds. Meanwhile, the appeals by both Andure and Mukta Dabholkar remain pending before the High Court.
