‘Identity doubtful’: Bombay HC grants bail to Narendra Dabholkar case convict

The Bombay High Court on 29 April granted bail to Sharad Kalaskar, one of the convicts in the 2013 murder case of anti-superstition activist Narendra Dabholkar, while suspending his life sentence and questioning whether he was conclusively identified as one of the shooters.

A division bench of Justices Ajey Gadkari and Ranjitsinha Bhonsale observed that there were doubts regarding Kalaskar’s identity as the alleged assailant and also raised concerns about the credibility of two prosecution eyewitnesses.

HC suspends sentence, grants bail

The court directed Kalaskar to furnish a personal bond of Rs 50,000 and ordered him to report once every month to Pune’s Deccan police station, where the case was originally registered.

Kalaskar had challenged his 2024 conviction before the high court and sought suspension of sentence pending disposal of his appeal.

The bench noted that he had remained in custody since September 2018 and that there was little possibility of his appeal being heard in the near future.

“We are of the opinion that, during the pendency of the appeal, the substantive sentence imposed upon him can be suspended and the applicant can be released on bail,” the court said.

Court questions prosecution witnesses

Rejecting the prosecution’s plea to stay the bail order, the court said:

“As we have expressed doubt about the identity of the applicant as one of the assailants in our order, the prayer for stay is rejected.”

The bench also cast doubt on the conduct and reliability of two witnesses presented as eyewitnesses by the prosecution.

According to the court, both witnesses claimed to have seen the shooting but instead of immediately informing authorities, they first completed their daily routine before approaching police.

“According to us, the conduct of these two witnesses is not of the men of common prudence and raises doubt in the mind of the court about their witnessing the incident,” the HC observed.

Identification process questioned

The high court further noted that investigators had not conducted a formal test identification parade involving Kalaskar.

Instead, the witnesses were allegedly shown only a photograph of the accused.

The court said this weakened the prosecution’s case regarding Kalaskar’s identification as one of the shooters.

Narendra Dabholkar, founder of the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti, was shot dead by two motorcycle-borne assailants during a morning walk in Pune on 20 August 2013.

The killing became one of the most prominent attacks on rationalists and progressive activists in India.

It was later followed by the murders of Govind Pansare, M M Kalburgi and Gauri Lankesh in separate incidents between 2015 and 2017.

Conviction and acquittals

A special court in May 2024 convicted Kalaskar and Sachin Andure and sentenced them to life imprisonment for Dabholkar’s murder.

However, the court acquitted them under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Arms Act.

The trial court had also acquitted Virendra Singh Tawde, Sanjiv Punalekar and Vikram Bhave citing insufficient evidence.

Investigation background

The case was initially investigated by Pune Police before being transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation in 2014 following a petition filed by Dabholkar’s daughter Mukta Dabholkar.

Mukta Dabholkar has separately challenged the acquittals and the dropping of UAPA charges, alleging that the murder was part of a broader conspiracy involving right-wing extremists.

Kalaskar is also facing trial in the murder case of communist leader Govind Pansare and had already secured bail in that matter from the Bombay High Court last year.

Following the latest order, he is expected to walk out of jail after completing bail formalities.