HC denies bail to wife’s lover who allegedly poisoned Santacruz bizman

The Bombay HC denied bail to Hitesh Jain, accused of conspiring to poison his lover's husband, citing strong evidence, while granting bail to Kavita.

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court (HC) on Thursday denied bail to 46-year-old Hitesh Shantilal Jain, accused of conspiring with his lover Kavita Shah, 45, to murder her husband, Santacruz-based textile businessman Kamalkant Shah, by poisoning him. The court, however, granted bail to Kavita due to her status as a mother.

HC denies bail to wife’s lover who allegedly poisoned Santacruz bizman

The crime branch on December 3, 2022, arrested Kavita and Jain for spiking Shah’s food with arsenic and thallium for months. The prosecution alleged that Jain and Kavita were involved in a long-term extramarital affair and plotted to kill Shah. The court found sufficient circumstantial evidence against Jain, leading to the rejection of his bail request.

According to police reports, Jain and Kavita were in a relationship for over a decade and were planning to marry. Investigations revealed that Shah, who passed away on September 19, 2022, was administered consistent doses of arsenic through his meals, resulting in a significant deterioration of his health.

Kavita and Kamalkant Shah married in 2002 and have two children - a 20-year-old daughter and a 17-year-old son. The police investigation found that the couple frequently argued due to Kavita’s relationship with Jain, who was also a friend of Shah’s and worked in the garment business.

Advocate Satish Maneshinde, who appeared for Jain, argued that there was no clear evidence connecting Jain to Shah’s death. He asserted that Jain had no prior criminal record and that he was a respected person in the society, and did not pose a flight risk (a person thought likely to leave the country before a trial or bail hearing). Based on these grounds, he urged the court to grant him bail.

Assistant public prosecutor Rutuja Ambekar and senior advocate Sudeep Pasbola, who represented the victim’s family, opposed Jain’s bail application, highlighting the extramarital relationship as a clear motive for the commission of the crime and referenced digital evidence, including online searches conducted by Jain on slow-acting poisons. They also presented testimony from individuals who allegedly supplied the lethal substances, linking Jain directly to the procurement of arsenic and thallium.

Justice Manish Pitale rejected the bail plea, emphasising that the motive was crucial in cases based on circumstantial evidence, concluding that the existing evidence pointed to Jain’s involvement in the crime. The prosecution’s narrative suggested that Kavita had gradually taken over kitchen duties leading up to Shah’s death, allegedly using this opportunity to poison him. Jain’s explanations regarding the procurement of the poisons were deemed unconvincing, especially in light of online searches.

Jain’s bail application was denied, as the court found a strong prima facie case against him, ensuring the trial would proceed unaffected by the bail decision.