‘Last chance’: SC grants one-year extension to conclude trial in gangster Sandeep Gadoli ‘fake encounter’ case

“After perusal of the material placed on record, we grant one year further time as a last chance to conclude the trial. The advocates of the parties shall cooperate during the trial,” the Supreme Court bench of Justices J K Maheshwari and Aravind Kumar said in an order communicated to the trial court on April 30.

Gadoli, a wanted gangster in Haryana, was in Mumbai with his girlfriend and friends on February 7, 2016, when the fake encounter allegedly took place. A team of the Gurgaon police claimed that they had barged into the hotel to arrest Gadoli but shot him in self-defence after he fired at them. Subsequently, a team of the Mumbai police claimed that the encounter was pre-planned and staged.

The Mumbai police arrested five police personnel and three civilians – model Divya Pahuja, who was accompanying Gadoli; her mother Soniya; and alleged main conspirator Virendra Gujjar – claiming that the encounter was planned due to gang rivalry.

Five of the accused – policemen Vikram Singh, Jitendra Yadav and Deepak Kakran, as well as Divya and Soniya – were granted bail citing long incarceration. Divya was murdered five months after she was granted bail in 2024.

Three accused – Gujjar, sub-inspector Pradyuman Yadav, and constable Paramjeet Ahlawat – remain behind bars. Citing the long incarceration, they had approached the Supreme Court for bail, which then expedited the trial. The trial is currently underway and over 40 witnesses have been examine