The Bombay High Court on Wednesday issued notices to all the accused in the Narendra Dabholkar murder case and the investigating agency CBI on a plea by his daughter challenging acquittal of three accused. Dabholkar, 67, a prominent anti-superstition activist, was shot dead in Pune on August 20, 2013. The Pune police, which initially investigated the murder case, handed over the probe to the CBI in 2014, following a high court order. The high court began monitoring the probe in August 2015. The trial in the case commenced in September 2021 after charges were framed against all the five accused. In May, this year, Special judge P P Jadhav had convicted two persons for the murder. However, citing lack of evidence, the judge had acquitted three others including the alleged mastermind Dr Virendrasinh Sharadchandra Tawade, lawyer Sanjiv Gajanan Punalekar and activist Vikram Vinay Bhave, all linked to the outfit Sanatan Sanstha. A division bench led by Justice Revati Mohite-Dere admitted the appeal by Mukta Dabholkar challenging acquittal of the three claiming that killing of her father was a “larger conspiracy”. She claimed that the special court had failed to consider the fact that the convicted as well as acquitted persons were members of a right-wing group and the accused persons had conspired to eliminate Dabholkar, who expressed his views against the establishment of the said group along with other organisations. She also contended that the two other accused — Sachin Prakashrao Andure and Sharad Bhausaheb Kalaskar — were wrongly acquitted of charges of criminal conspiracy under the IPC and provisions of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Arms Act. The high court sought responses during the hearing on September 23. Meanwhile, the two convicts Andure and Kalaskar, have also approached the HC challenging the Pune trial court verdict sentencing them to life imprisonment. Hamid Dabholkar, son of the late activist, has filed an intervention application seeking to be heard in challenge to the conviction. Last week, family members of Dabholkar had criticised CBI for not filing an appeal in the Bombay HC against acquittal of three accused even after 100 days since the special court verdict.
