High court upholds life sentence for couple in 2010 murder case

The Bombay high court (HC) recently upheld the life imprisonment sentence given to a couple for strangulating their 19-year-old friend and burning his private parts

The Bombay high court (HC) recently upheld the life imprisonment sentence given to a couple for strangulating their 19-year-old friend and burning his private parts in 2010.

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A division bench of justice BP Dharamdhikari and justice SK Shinde on December 2 dismissed appeals filed by the accused, Prafulla Ghadi and his partner Prajakta Shelar.

Ghadi was 22-years old and Shelar was 21 when they killed Nilesh Sonar, their friend, at their flat in Diva on October 23, 2010. They burned his genitals and put his body in a suitcase and abandoned it at Dombivli (East).

The couple was arrested after investigation. On December 21, 2012, second additional sessions judge at Thane convicted the duo for the murder and sentenced them to life imprisonment.

The convicts then moved HC challenging the sentence and pointed out discrepancies in testimonies of material witnesses, which was opposed by additional public prosecutor Arfan Sait. After hearing both the sides, the bench upheld the sentence.