Bombay HC Acquits Man In 2013 Chembur Murder Case After 13 Years In Jail; Upholds Conviction For Destroying Evidence

Mumbai, July 10: After spending nearly 13 years in prison, a man convicted of murdering a woman whose dismembered body was recovered from different locations in Mumbai in 2013 has been acquitted of the murder charge by the Bombay High Court.

Holding that the prosecution failed to prove an unbroken chain of circumstantial evidence, the court set aside his life sentence under Section 302 of the IPC but upheld his conviction under Section 201 for causing disappearance of evidence, for which he had been sentenced to two years' imprisonment — a term he has already served.

A bench of Justices Manish Pitale and Shreeram Shirsat partly allowed the appeal filed by Prabhakar Shetty, setting aside his conviction under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code while upholding his conviction under Section 201 for causing disappearance of evidence.

Court Finds Gaps In Case

The case dates back to October 29, 2013, when a woman's torso was found inside a black plastic bag in Charai Lake, Chembur. The following day, her legs were recovered from Trombay Jetty, while the investigation later led to the recovery of her head. The victim was identified as Kanti Shetty. Prabhakar Shetty was arrested on November 5, 2013.

The Sessions Court had convicted the appellant in 2020, relying entirely on circumstantial evidence, including motive, the “last seen together” theory, call detail records (CDRs), witness testimony and recovery of the victim's body parts.

However, the High Court found several gaps in the prosecution's case.

The bench observed that in cases based solely on circumstantial evidence, every circumstance must be firmly established and should point only towards the guilt of the accused.

Quoting settled legal principles, the court said, “There must be a chain of evidence so complete as not to leave any reasonable ground for a conclusion consistent with the innocence of the accused.”

Murder Conviction Set Aside

The court was not convinced by the prosecution's “last seen” theory, noting that the key witness's statement was recorded after a significant delay and contained material contradictions. It also held that the call detail records could only serve as corroborative evidence and not as independent proof of guilt.

The bench further pointed out that the investigation had failed to examine an unidentified mobile number that was found to be at the same location as the deceased around the relevant time.

“It was imperative on the part of the prosecution to negate the hypothesis of third-party intervention, but the prosecution has entirely failed to do so,” the court said.

The judges held that this lapse created a reasonable possibility that someone other than the appellant could have been involved in the crime.

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Accordingly, the court acquitted the appellant of the murder charge but maintained his conviction under Section 201 of the IPC for destruction of evidence. Since he had already undergone nearly 13 years in prison — more than the sentence awarded for that offence — the court directed that he be released forthwith unless required in any other case.

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