Narendra Dabholkar Murder Case: Bombay HC Grants Bail To Convict Sachin Andure, Suspends Life Sentence Citing Weak Evidence

Mumbai, August 18, 2026: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday granted bail to Sachin Andure, convicted in the 2013 murder of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar, observing that the evidence against him was “extremely weak” and that there were “fair chances” of his acquittal in the appeal.

A division bench of Justices Sarang Kotwal and RR Bhonsale suspended Andure’s life sentence pending his appeal and ordered his release on a personal bond of Rs 50,000 with one or two local sureties of the same amount.

Andure is also facing trial in the murder of activist Govind Pansare. With bail granted in that case as well, he can now walk out of jail.

Dabholkar, 67, the founder of the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti, an anti-superstition organisation, was shot dead by two motorcycle-borne assailants while on a morning walk in Pune on August 20, 2013. He was shot by persons allegedly linked to the radical outfit Sanatan Sanstha.

Initially, the case was probed by the Deccan police station, Pune. Following a petition by his daughter Mukta Dabholkar, the investigation was transferred to the CBI in 2014.

Identification Evidence Questioned

The court particularly questioned the identification evidence against Andure. It noted that two witnesses identified him for the first time in court nearly eight years and seven months and nine years and three months after the incident, respectively. “That is quite a long period for identification,” the court said, adding that neither witness had identified Andure’s photograph.

The bench held that while in-court identification can be substantive evidence in some cases, in Andure’s case it was “an extremely weak piece of evidence”.

The court also found the alleged extra-judicial confession relied upon by the prosecution to be weak. It noted that the said witness remained silent for more than five years and disclosed the alleged confession only on August 23, 2018, five days after Andure’s arrest. “There is no corroboration to his evidence,” the court observed.

The bench further pointed to a “loose end” concerning the recovery of the weapon and the ballistic expert’s opinion, noting that the investigating agency had offered no explanation.

Co-Accused’s Bail Considered

The court also took note of co-accused Sharad Kalaskar having been granted bail pending his appeal. It said Andure’s case was “stronger” on identification since the two eyewitnesses had not even identified his photograph, while Kalaskar’s photograph had been identified.

The HC directed him to report to Deccan police station every first Monday initially for a year and thereafter once every three months. It clarified that its observations were only for deciding the bail plea and would not affect the final appeal.

Conviction And Appeal

On May 10, 2024, the Sessions Court convicted Sachin Andure and Sharad Kalaskar for Dabholkar’s murder, sentencing them to life in prison. However, they were acquitted of charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Arms Act. The court also acquitted Virendra Singh Tawde, Sanjiv Punalekar, and Vikram Bhave, citing insufficient evidence.

Andure challenged his conviction before the high court. Pending hearing on appeal, he sought bail and suspension of his sentence. The HC allowed this application on Tuesday.

Mukta Dabholkar Challenges Acquittals

Dabholkar's daughter Mukta had also filed an appeal before the HC challenging the acquittals in the case and the exclusion of UAPA charges against Andure and Kalaskar. She alleged in her plea that the murder was part of a larger conspiracy by right-wing extremists.

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Dabholkar’s murder was the first in a chain of similar killings of three other rationalists and activists – Govind Pansare in Kolhapur in February 2015, Kannada-language scholar MM Kalburgi in Dharwad in August 2015, and journalist Gauri Lankesh in Bengaluru in September 2017.

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