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Journalism of Courage
The Supreme Court on Monday granted bail to artist Chintan Upadhyay pending his appeal against his conviction for abetting and conspiring the murders of his estranged wife Hema Upadhyay, and her lawyer Harish Bhambhani in 2015. The Court also suspended Chintan Upadhyay’s sentence pending his appeal against conviction before the Bombay High Court.
A bench of Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan of the Supreme Court passed an order in Chintan Upadhyay’s application – argued through advocates Gaurav Agrawal, Shardul Singh, and Prerna Gandhi – that stated his appeal against conviction in Bombay High Court would take time to be disposed and the sole evidence against him is the testimony of the co-accused. The apex court accepted the grounds and allowed Chintan Upadhyay’s plea.
On December 11, 2023, a Bombay HC bench of Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Gauri V Godse rejected Chintan Upadhyay’s interim plea seeking release on bail pending his appeal. It had observed that prima facie there was sufficient ground to show his involvement in the crime.
The bench had noted that the material on record corroborated the confessional statement of the co-accused, which was found to be ‘true and voluntary’.
Chintan Upadhyay was sentenced to life imprisonment by the sessions court on October 10, 2023, which he challenged before the high court. He had also filed an interim application, seeking release on bail, pending his appeal in the high court.
On December 11, 2015, the bodies of Hema Upadhyay and Bhambhani were found dumped in a nullah in Kandivali. The Dindoshi sessions court had found Chintan Upadhyay guilty of abetting and conspiring the murders, among others. Three other accused – Pradeep, Vijay, and Shivkumar – were also held guilty.
Chintan Upadhyay, who has spent six years in jail since his arrest in 2015, was granted bail by the Supreme Court in 2021. Following his conviction, Chintan Upadhyay was arrested and sent to jail again.
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