Bombay HC sets aside conviction of man in 1998 murder case

On July 31, 1998, a case of murder was registered after two people with four bullet wounds were found dead behind Godrej Bungalow in Juhu.

The Bombay high court (HC) recently dismissed the state’s plea to enhance the punishment of a man convicted for shooting two people at Juhu in 1998 and set aside his conviction on the grounds that it was based on weak evidence.

Bombay high court (HC) recently dismissed the state’s plea to enhance the punishment of a man convicted for shooting two people at Juhu in 1998 (HT FILE)

On July 31, 1998, a case of murder was registered after two people with four bullet wounds were found dead behind Godrej Bungalow in Juhu. On August 27, 1998, Mohammad Shaikh was arrested with a pistol. During investigation, Shaikh confessed to being responsible for the Juhu shooting as well. In 2000, a trial court convicted him to five years in jail. In 2003, the state appealed to the HC to enhance the punishment. Advocate Amin Solkar, appearing for the convict, argued Shaikh should have been given a chance to argue against the enhancement or even plead for acquittal.

On Tuesday, the bench of chief justice Pradeep Nandrajog and justice Bharati Dangre said, “The Ballistic Report links the said pistol recovered on August 27, 1998 (from Shaikh) to the four cartridges seized in Juhu on July 31, 1998 and we feel like laughing,” said the bench. The court also raised a doubt as to how the police got the main witness in the case.