No court relief for accused in HDFC Bank ex-VP murder case in Mumbai

Mumbai: Almost eight years after Siddharth Sanghvi, a vice president at HDFC Bank, was killed after he left his Lower Parel office, a sessions court rejected the bail plea of the man arrested for the murder on grounds of "seriousness of alleged incident, mode and manner of commission of alleged act and its consequences." Rejecting the bail plea of Sarfaraz Shaheed Shaikh, alias Raees, additional sessions judge Anil D Salunkhe said, "This is not fit case to exercise discretion in favour of the applicant for grant of bail." The judge observed that delay in the trial, which the defence used as grounds for bail, was significantly attributed to the actions of the accused himself. "Prima-facie, record shows applicant is the person who filed application for ascertaining his age on the day of alleged incident. Record shows report of expert already received against accused, however, applicant by filing subsequent application compelled to record the evidence of witnesses with regard to papers and report received from expert related to his age. Reason for alleged delay is not only due to prosecution, accused is also equally responsible," the judge said. The plea to determine his age is pending.The case dates back to Sept 2018. Sanghvi had left his workplace but failed to return home, prompting a missing person's report. Investigation led police to the discovery of the victim's car in Navi Mumbai, which contained blood stains and a sharp-edged knife. Following technical analysis of call records, Shaikh was arrested. Police allege that the accused was found in possession of the deceased's mobile phone and subsequently led authorities to the recovery of the body from a water body near Haji Malang Road.Shaikh, who has been in custody since Sept 9, 2018, sought bail on the grounds that he has been in jail for over seven years and four months without effective progress in the trial. The defence cited fourteen separate judgments from the Bombay High Court where bail was granted due to prolonged detention. The prosecution opposed the plea, arguing that Shaikh was responsible for the lack of progress and that the state was ready to adduce evidence immediately.The judge noted that legal precedents cited by the defence did not apply because of the specific conduct of the accused in this matter and that prosecution was prepared to secure the presence of witnesses.