The court convicted two accused individuals, Sachin Andure and Sharad Kalaskar, sentencing them to life imprisonment along with a penalty of ₹5 lakh. Meanwhile, Dr. Virendrasingh Tawade, Vikram Bhave, and Sanjeev Punalekar were acquitted of all charges.
This verdict comes after a rigorous trial that lasted nearly three years. The trial, initiated in 2021, followed the institution of the sessions case in 2016.
Following this verdict, Chetan Rajhans, national spokesperson, Sanatan Sanstha, shared a video post on X stating the verdict is a reflection of the Nation’s motto Satyamev Jayate.
https://twitter.com/SanatanSanstha/status/1788818345338245451
Narendra Dabholkar, the founder of Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS), was tragically shot dead by two assailants during a morning walk in Pune in 2013. The accused individuals were apprehended by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) between 2016 and 2019.
The CBI, took over the case in 2014 from Pune City police, filed a chargesheet against five accused individuals in the case. Dr Virendrasingh Tawade, Sachin Andure, Sharad Kalaskar, and Vikram Bhave faced charges under Sections 302 read with Section 120B for criminal conspiracy and execution of the murder, along with charges under Section 16 (terrorist act) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and provisions of the Arms Act.
Accused Sanjeev Punalekar, a Mumbai-based lawyer, was charged with an offense under Section 201 of IPC for causing disappearance of evidence.
While Tawade, Andure, and Kalaskar remain in judicial custody, Bhave and Punalekar are out on bail. The charges in the case were framed by the Pune sessions court on September 15, 2021, against all five accused individuals.
The Court noted that a conspiracy to eliminate Dr Dabholkar was crafted to instill fear in the public consciousness, hindering the work of the ‘Andhashradha Nirmulan Samiti’.
The case saw various legal twists, including Dabholkar’s daughter and son moving the High Court in 2015 to appoint an independent Special Investigation Team and for the court to oversee the investigation. The High Court began monitoring the investigation in August 2015.
In December 2022, Tawade filed an interim application to discontinue the monitoring, contending that since the trial had commenced, the High Court could cease monitoring the case. Subsequently, another accused also sought to discontinue the monitoring.
