MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Friday granted bail to two accused in the Kurar quadruple murders of June 2011, primarily on account of their long pre-trial incarceration for over 13 years and the fact that the trial was not likely to be completed within a reasonable period, despite being at an advanced stage.
The murders came to light on June 6, 2011, when partially burnt bodies of the victims – Chetan Dhule, 24, Ganesh Karanje, 24, Bharat Kudle, 27, and Dinesh Ahire, 26 – were discovered in the deserted hills behind Kurar village in Malad East. Police said a gang by Uday Pathak, a local goon, took the victims to a deserted hilly area and killed them. The bodies were burnt to destroy evidence, police said. A total of 16 people were identified as accused in the murder, out of which one is absconding and 12 have already been granted bail.
The two accused – Vivekanand Sudhir Pise and Rahul Pandurangan Mandri – were arrested in August 2011. The last order of the Supreme Court dated January 2, 2024, denied the Special leave petition of the two accused.
Advocates Prashant Pandey and Dinesh Jadhwani, representing the two accused, highlighted their prolonged incarceration and delay of trial for more than past 13 years, 7 months, and 11 days. They submitted that the Supreme court had specifically directed the completion of the trial within three months from April 2023, which has not been completed yet. On the issue of parity, he argued that another accused in the same case has been granted bail on March 7, 2025.
On the other hand, the additional public prosecutor, Mahalakshmi Ganapathy, persuaded the court to consider the gravity of the crime, which was the sole factor for their rejection of bail earlier.
Considering the trajectory of the trial, the single bench of justice Milind Jadhav observed the impossibility of trial to be completed in the near foreseeable future, thus, prolonging the agony of the undertrial accused persons forever.
Highlighting certain high court precedents, the court ruled that the court has given primacy to the fact that accused person, if granted bail, will be in a much better position to defend himself. “The Supreme Court in a plethora of judgments have discussed the rights conferred by Article 21 qua grant of bail and that such rights cannot be taken away unless the procedure is reasonable and fair and in cases where there is unreasonable delay in trial it would undoubtedly impact the rights of an undertrial”, the bench said.
Therefore, the court granted bail to the two accused on a personal bond of ₹50,000, each with one or two sureties in the like amount. It also directed them to furnish their addresses to the police and to the court and to not leave the state without prior permission of the trial court. “Applicants shall co-operate with the conduct of trial and attend the trial court on all dates. If they do so, it will entitle the prosecution to apply for cancellation of their bail”, it concluded.
