Bombay HC Grants Bail to Man Accused of Killing Live-in Partner, Disposing of Her Chopped Body Parts

A single-judge bench of the Bombay High Court, presided by Justice Amit Borkar, recently granted bail to a man accused of killing his live-in partner, chopping the body into small parts, and disposing of it in sacks and bedsheets. The man was booked under the Maharashtra Police Act and Arms Act. The police conducted an investigation after a missing complaint was filed by the parents of the girl on August 8, 2021.

The prosecution contended that the man had confessed that he was having a love affair with the girl. Allegedly on refusal to perform a marriage, there were frequent quarrels between the man and the deceased.

Allegedly, on ​August 2021, at around 8 pm, the applicant killed the girl by throttling her. He then locked the room and left for Akkalkot. The applicant returned on August 13, 2021.

The next day, he purchased two sacks from a shop at Nehru Chowk and borrowed a tempo from a friend. He carried a scythe, knife, and sacks in the tempo to the rented premises. On August 15, 2021, around 12.30, he entered the room and cut up the body using the scythe, knife, and hexa blade.

It was alleged that he put the head and two hands in one sack and the legs in another. The remaining part of the body was wrapped in a bedsheet and blanket. Further, he allegedly transported the sacks containing the body parts in the tempo through Pirangut and Lavasa Road.

The man had applied for bail after a charge sheet was filed by the police.

Advocate Sana Raes Khan, representing him, contended that the panchnama under section 27 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, was conducted on August 24, 2021, between 10.55 hours and 11.25 hours. However, the applicant was arrested after the panchnama, making it inadmissible as evidence.

She further argued that no bloodstains were found either at the alleged incident site or in the tempo. Additionally, there was no DNA sample of Class-I heir on record to match with the DNA of the recovered body parts. The case was primarily based on circumstantial evidence, it was contended.

Additional Public Prosecutor Amit Palkar argued that the applicant and the deceased were living together and the admissibility of the panchnama conducted under section 27 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, had to be determined during the trial.

He submitted that the deceased was brutally killed, with her body parts cut and scattered in different places. He added that the weapons used for the crime were found at the location indicated by the applicant. Therefore, the application should be rejected, he said.

The court agreed with the contentions of the applicant and said that prima facie it appeared that there were no bloodstains in the tempo or at a place where the alleged crime of cutting up the body into different parts was committed.

“Prima facie it appears that there were no bloodstains in the tempo or at a place where alleged crime of cutting body into different parts was committed. The admissibility of Panchnama under Section 27 needs to be adjudicated during trial as the prosecution needs to be given opportunity to lead evidence about exact time of the Panchnama and the arrest and its effect,” the court observed.

The bench noted that the charges were yet to be framed and it is unlikely that the trial will be over in the near future.

“Considering totally decomposed body of the deceased, the identification of that needs to be decided during trial. However, prima facie, the material on record against the applicant is not sufficient at this stage to warrant his further detention,” the bench recorded.