‘Last chance’ for state to expedite double murder trial

MUMBAI: Bombay high court refused bail to artist Chintan Upadhyay on Friday in a double murder case of December 2015 where one victim was his artist wife, Hema, and the other, her lawyer Haresh Bambhani. The court kept his petition pending with a direction to the prosecution to try and wrap up within six months the trial already expedited by the SC last year.
Justice Sadhana Jadhav said she was giving the prosecution a “last chance to complete the trial’’ with “no unnecessary adjournments”.Prosecutor Prajakta Shinde said the special prosecutor at the trial court in Dindoshi had agreed to adduce evidence every alternate day.
Chintan had applied afresh for bail in the HC. His counsel Raja Thakare cited an SC order which had last February, while declining him bail, directed the trial court to complete the trial within nine months from the date of framing of charges. The charges were framed on May 6, 2019. It is now nine months, but the trial is on at a “snail’s pace”, said his lawyer.
Justice Jadhav, stating she recognized the right of the accused to speedy trial, said she would give the state a last chance. She also noted the police had not yet tracked down absconding accused, Vidhyadhar Rajbhar. Besides, they had not filed the chargesheet under a Criminal Procedure Code provision that would have allowed evidence to be recorded against the absconding accused. Justice Jadhav also noted Thakare’s submission that Chintan was “not a hardened criminal”, but an artist of “international acclaim”.
Four accused have been arrested and are facing trial, including Chintan who was arrested for allegedly conspiring to kill Hema.