Dabhalkar Murder Case: Sachin Andure Gets Bail As Life Sentence Is Suspended

Sachin Andure gets bail in Dabhalkar case.

Bombay High Court suspends life sentence.

The case was transferred to CBI investigation.

The Bombay High Court has granted bail to Sachin Andure, a convict in the murder case of rationalist Narendra Dabhalkar, while also suspending the life imprisonment sentence handed down by the trial court in 2024.

A division bench comprising Justices Sarang Kotwal and Ranjita Sinha Bhosale passed the order. The development could pave the way for Andure to walk out of prison, subject to the conditions imposed by the court.

Andure had remained in custody despite securing bail in the murder case of rationalist Govind Pansare. His continued detention was linked to the separate Dabhalkar case, in which he had not previously been granted bail.

The latest order comes after co accused Sharad Kalaskar was granted bail in April this year by a bench headed by Justice Ajay Gadkari.

Dabhalkar, the founder of the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti, was 67 when he was shot dead in Pune on August 20, 2013. According to the case, two assailants arrived on a motorcycle and allegedly attacked him.

The investigation was initially handled by local police. It was later transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation in 2014 after Dabhalkar’s daughter, Mukta Dabhalkar, approached the High Court seeking a change in the investigation.

The trial court had sentenced Andure to life imprisonment in 2024. With the High Court now suspending that sentence and granting bail, the case has entered another significant stage in the long running legal proceedings.

The bail order does not amount to an acquittal. The allegations and evidence in the case remain subject to the ongoing judicial process.