The Bombay High Court, in a recent ruling, rejected artist Chintan Upadhyay’s plea to suspend his life sentence and grant bail in the case related to the double murder of his estranged wife Hema Upadhyay and her lawyer Haresh Bhambani in December 2015. Chintan Upadhyay had moved the high court in October, contesting a sessions court’s conviction and life imprisonment sentence.
In his appeal, Upadhyay contested the trial court’s judgment, citing the lack of substantial evidence and reasoning for his conviction. Pending the hearing of his appeal, he sought the court’s intervention to suspend his sentence and secure his release on bail.
However, a division bench comprising Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Gauri Godse dismissed Upadhyay’s plea on Monday, refusing to suspend his life sentence.
The High Court indicated that it would continue to hear Upadhyay’s appeal against the conviction order in due course.
The gruesome incident occurred on December 11, 2015, when Hema Upadhyay and her lawyer, Haresh Bhambani, were killed, their bodies later discovered stuffed into cardboard boxes and discarded in a ditch in Mumbai’s Kandivali area.
The additional sessions judge S Y Bhosale of the Dindoshi court, on October 5, found Chintan Upadhyay guilty of abetting and conspiring in the murder of his wife. Additionally, three other accused, including a tempo driver and helpers, were found complicit in the double murder.
The tempo driver, Vijay Rajbhar, and his aides Pradeep Rajbhar and Shivkumar Rajbhar, along with art fabricator Vidyadhar Rajbhar, were implicated in the case, with the former three found guilty while the latter remains absconding.
Despite Upadhyay’s efforts to contest the conviction and seek temporary relief through bail, the Bombay High Court’s decision signifies the continuance of legal proceedings in this high-profile and tragic case, highlighting the gravity of the accusations against the accused in the double murder.
Sources By Agencies