No evidence of black magic: Court quashes case against former Lilavati trustees

Allowing a revision application filed by Chetan Mehta, Nimesh Sheth and Ayushman Mehta, Additional Sessions Judge Kunal Dhanaji Jadhav held that the complaint lacked prima facie evidence linking the three to the alleged act

MUMBAI: A sessions court has set aside a magistrate’s order directing criminal proceedings against three former trustees of the Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust (LKMMT) over allegations of black magic at the hospital, holding that the discovery of eight pots buried beneath an office floor did not, by itself, establish an offence under Maharashtra’s anti-black magic law.

No evidence of black magic: Court quashes case against former Lilavati trustees.

Allowing a revision application filed by Chetan Mehta, Nimesh Sheth and Ayushman Mehta, Additional Sessions Judge Kunal Dhanaji Jadhav held that the complaint lacked prima facie evidence linking the three to the alleged act. The court noted that there was no expert report establishing whether the alleged bones recovered from the pots were human remains, no clarity on when the pots were buried and no evidence attributing a specific role to the applicants.

The former trustees had challenged a magistrate’s December 8, 2025 order issuing process against them under the Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act, 2013.

The court questioned the magistrate’s decision to initiate proceedings, observing that process should not have been issued based on a “vague complaint without any prima facie evidence for commission of offence under Black Magic Act”.

Mehta alleged that the former trustees had resorted to “evil and sinister practices” to retain control over the trust and cause harm to those administering it.

Examining the evidence, the court noted that the two witnesses examined before the magistrate spoke about finding eight small pots containing ash, rice and hair. Neither, however, had reported finding human bones.

The court also noted the absence of an expert report establishing whether the alleged bones were human remains or whether the hair was human hair rather than another fibre.

“The complaint is silent regarding who, when and under whose instructions had buried the Kalasha’s in the office,” the judge observed, finding that no specific role had been attributed to the applicants.

The court held that merely placing pots beneath a floor did not constitute an offence under the 2013 Act, which targets specified inhuman and harmful practices undertaken to invoke supernatural powers.

The complaint had also alleged that the rituals adversely affected Prashant Mehta’s health. However, the court found no material linking his health problems to the buried articles. It also noted that the complaint did not establish whether his health had deteriorated before or after the pots were discovered.

Trust dispute

The judge also referred to the longstanding dispute over the administration of Lilavati Hospital, noting that the rival groups had been involved in litigation for years. The incumbent trustees had taken control following a Supreme Court order in September 2023, while the black magic allegations surfaced after the change in administration.

“The complaint prima facie shows the extension of litigation regarding the trust,” the judge observed, adding that there was no prima facie evidence that Chetan Mehta had personally buried the pots or instructed anyone to do so.

The former trustees had challenged the magistrate’s 2025 order. Allowing their revision application, the sessions court set aside the order, holding that the evidence was insufficient to proceed against them.