E-Paper
Court sentences man to life imprisonment for relative’s murder
According to the prosecution, the incident took place on February 5, 2021, in the Sanjaynagar area of Shirur. A minor quarrel between children of the two families escalated into an argument among the adult members outside convict’s house.
Pune: A Ghodnadi-Shirur court convicted a 25-year-old man for murdering his relative following a neighbourhood dispute and sentenced him to life imprisonment.
In the April 17, 2026 judgment, additional sessions judge S P Pol held that the prosecution had proved beyond a reasonable doubt that accused Karan Jalindar Bhole fatally stabbed Subhash Baba Sonawane after a quarrel between the children of the two families escalated into a violent confrontation.
The court observed that the prosecution had successfully established that Sonawane’s death was homicidal and that the accused had intentionally caused his death using a knife.
“After considering the facts, evidence on record and submissions made by both sides, the prosecution has proved that the death of Subhash Baba Sonawane was homicidal and that the accused intentionally and knowingly caused his death by stabbing him with a knife,” the court noted in its order.
According to the prosecution, the incident took place on February 5, 2021, in the Sanjaynagar area of Shirur. A minor quarrel between children of the two families escalated into an argument among the adult members outside Sonawane’s house.
The court noted that Bhole initially assaulted the victim with a cable wire before returning with a knife and repeatedly stabbing Sonawane in the abdomen and upper body. Sonawane died while receiving treatment at a hospital in Pune.
During the trial, the prosecution examined 12 witnesses, including the victim’s wife, brother and grandson, who were present at the scene. Doctors who treated Sonawane testified that he sustained multiple stab injuries, including serious abdominal wounds that required emergency surgery. He died two days after the attack despite medical treatment.
The defence argued that there was no direct evidence against the accused. They claimed the prosecution witnesses were interested parties and that no independent witnesses were examined, the FIR registration was delayed, and the allegations were an afterthought.
They further argued that no prior enmity existed between the accused and the deceased and that the incident was not premeditated. It also questioned the credibility of the child witness, alleging that he had been tutored before testifying in court.
The court, however, rejected these arguments. While awarding the sentence, the court said the crime was serious but did not fall under the “rarest of rare” category that warrants the death penalty.
“Therefore, sentence of rigorous imprisonment for life for the offence punishable under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code will be the proper sentence,” the court stated.
Bhole was convicted under Sections 302 and 324 of the Indian Penal Code. No separate sentence was imposed under Section 324, as the conviction under Section 302 was treated as the major offence.
