Kukreja’s family to challenge Padalkar’s acquittal

Reacting sharply to the acquittal of co-accused Diya Padalkar, Jhanvi’s mother Nidhi Kukreja said the family would challenge her acquittal before the Bombay High Court

MUMBAI: Reacting sharply to the acquittal of co-accused Diya Padalkar, Jhanvi’s mother Nidhi Kukreja said the family would challenge her acquittal before the Bombay High Court.

Mumbai, India - September 20, 2022: Niddhi Kukreja, mother of Jhanvi Kukreja, 19, who was murdered on the intervening night of December 31 and January 1, 2021, while partying out with friends, at her home in Santacruz (W). (Photo Courtesy : Sachin Haralkar) (Photo Courtesy : Sachin Haralkar)

“I have faith in the judiciary. I have attended court for the last six years and I will challenge the acquittal. The court has obliged us by acknowledging the presence of Diya Padalkar at the crime scene at the time of the crime,” Kukreja said in a statement issued after the Sessions Court pronounced its verdict on Saturday.

Her counsel, advocate Trivankumar Karnani, pointed to specific observations recorded by the Sessions Court. “In the course of dictation of the judgment in open court, the court has recorded the presence of accused No 2, Diya Padalkar, at the crime spot at the time of commission of the crime, alongside accused No 1, Shree Jogdhankar,” he said.

While Jogdhankar has been convicted and sentenced to life for Kukreja’s murder, Padalkar has given the benefit of doubt. The court also recorded an unexplained injury on her lips and the false submission given to the hospital,” Karnani said.

“We will obtain a certified copy of the judgment once it is published, analyse the reasoning for her acquittal, and accordingly take steps to challenge her acquittal,” he said.