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Law

Bombay High Court Grants Bail to Six Accused in Govind Pansare Murder Case

Earlier on January 2, the High Court dismissed the plea by the family of Pansare, who sought a court-monitored investigation into his death.

Bombay High Court Grants Bail to Six Accused in Govind Pansare Murder Case

Late rationalist and CPI leader Govind Pansare. (File Photo)

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday (January 29) granted bail to six of the ten men accused in the 2015 murder of Communist Party of India (CPI) leader and trade unionist Govind Pansare, citing prolonged pre-trial detention.

The six accused—Sachin Andure, Ganesh Miskin, Amit Degvekar, Amit Baddi, Bharat Kurane, and Vasudev Suryavanshi—were arrested between 2018 and 2019.

A single-judge bench of Justice Anil S Kilor ruled in their favour, highlighting the slow pace of the trial and the unlikelihood of its conclusion in the near future. The bail plea of another accused, Dr. Virendrasinh Tawade, will be heard separately.

Earlier on January 2, the High Court dismissed the plea by the family of Pansare, who sought a court-monitored investigation into his death. The court ruled that the investigation did not require further oversight and directed the lower court to expedite the ongoing trial.

Citing the nature of the evidence, the allegations, and the prolonged incarceration of the accused, the court stated: “There is no satisfactory progress in the trial. Thus, there is no likelihood that trial will be concluded in the near future,” reported The Hindustan Times.

The court also observed that only 25-30 out of the 231 witnesses cited by the prosecution had been examined so far.

Pansare and his wife, Uma, were attacked by two assailants on a motorbike while returning home from breakfast in Kolhapur on February 16, 2015. Pansare succumbed to his injuries four days later, while his wife survived.

The attackers were later identified as Vinay Pawar and Sarang Akolkar, who remain absconding. Ten others were arrested in connection with the case, including Tawade, who was already in Yerawada Central Jail for his alleged involvement in the 2013 murder of rationalist Dr. Narendra Dabholkar in Pune. Tawade was named as an accused in the Pansare case in July 2016.

The prosecution largely based its case on circumstantial evidence, relying on statements by witness Sagar Lakhe, who claimed that a conspiracy to kill Pansare was planned in February 2015.

However, Justice Kilor noted that Lakhe’s statements were recorded three and a half years after the incident, raising concerns over their reliability. Lakhe was himself arrested in 2018 for his alleged role in the 2017 murder of journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh in Bengaluru.

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