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Mumbai – The Bombay High Court has granted bail to Sachin Andure, Ganesh Miskin, Amit Degwekar, Bharat Kurne, Amit Baddi and Vasudev Suryavanshi in the rationalist and communist leader Comrade Govind Pansare’s murder case. On January 29th, the High Court ruled that “there is little possibility of the trial concluding soon, the accused have been in custody for a long time, and due to a lack of significant progress in the investigation, they are eligible for bail.” This decision was given by a single bench of Justice A.S. Kilor. The Court also directed that the trial be expedited through daily hearings. Senior advocate Nitin Pradhan, advocate Siddh Vidya, advocate Pushpa Ganediwala looked after the proceedings on behalf of the suspects. The High Court has asked the suspects to appear before the Rajarampuri Police Station in Kolhapur on the 1st and 16th of every month. Bail was granted on a personal surety bond of Rs 25,000.
Dr. Virendra Tawde’s bail application was filed late, and hence, the Court will conduct a separate hearing on it. The accused were arrested between 2018 and 2019. The suspects had approached the High Court for bail, citing that they had been in custody for six years with no sign of an early conclusion to the trial.
Comrade Govind Pansare murder case: “The repeated claims of a conspiracy in this murder do not appear prima facie justified, as observed by the Bombay High Court.” – Advocate Virendra Ichalkaranjikar @ssvirendra
“The HC has granted bail to 6 accused citing long incarceration, I… pic.twitter.com/y0dK6w7u9D
— Sanatan Prabhat (@SanatanPrabhat) January 29, 2025
The High Court had previously dismissed a petition filed by Pansare’s family seeking continued judicial supervision of the investigation until the main conspirators were found. The Court had stated that “except for the investigation concerning two absconding accused, all aspects of the murder of Comrade Govind Pansare have been probed. Hence, there is no need for continued judicial oversight on the investigation.”
Following the bail order, Govind Pansare’s daughter-in-law, Megha Pansare, said, “We will discuss with our lawyers whether to approach the Supreme Court, as the key accused are still absconding.”
Background of the InvestigationOn February 16th, 2015, Govind Pansare was shot in Kolhapur, and he succumbed to his injuries four days later. Following arrests in the Gauri Lankesh murder case, the accused in this case were also taken into custody. |
The suspects were arrested without any connection : Senior lawyer Nitin Pradhan, Bombay High Court
Justice was done; but it was delayed. The suspects were arrested without any clue. They are arrested even though they have no connection with this case, the evidence in the case, the reasons for the case, anything. They had to stay in jail for 7 years. Many judges have said that our system of giving justice to criminals has collapsed. This case is a symbol of that. Therefore, even if there is a delay, when it comes before the right Court, justice is done. Therefore, the common people still have faith in the judiciary.
There was a delay; but finally, despite the delay, justice was done. We are happy about that : Advocate Pushpa Ganediwala
The Bombay High Court observed that ‘the repeated claims that there was a conspiracy in the Pansare murder’ do not seem prima facie coherent : Advocate Virendra Ichalkaranjikar, National President, Hindu Vidhidnya Parishad
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The trial in the Pansare murder case was not progressing at the pace that was expected. The Bombay High Court has observed that the repeated allegations of a conspiracy in this murder do not seem prima facie coherent. ‘I think this is a team victory of the arguments made by Advocate Nitin Pradhan, Advocate Pushsha Ganediwala, Advocate Siddh Vidya in this case and the way in which they presented their case in Court’.
If we look at the bail granted by the Supreme Court in the last 4-5 years, even if the accused is in jail for 4 months, 6 months, 1.5 years etc., the bail is granted. The current suspects have been in jail for 6 years, so they should definitely get bail. Therefore, even if an appeal is made against this decision in the Supreme Court, it will not stand. The bail of the remaining 2 accused is pending in the District and Sessions Court in Kolhapur, its hearing will be held on February 12th. The observations recorded by the High Court will definitely benefit us; because the remaining accused have also been in jail for the last 6 years.