Bombay High Court acquits Prabhakar Shetty of 2013 Chembur murder after 13 years in jail
The Bombay High Court on July 10 acquitted a man, Prabhakar Shetty, of a 2013 murder charge after he spent nearly 13 years in prison. The case emerged after the dismembered body of the victim, Kanti Shetty, was found in Chembur and Trombay.
A bench consisting of Justices Manish Pitale and Shreeram Shirsat set aside Prabhakar Shetty's life sentence under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The court ruled that the prosecution had failed to establish an unbroken chain of circumstantial evidence.
The case dates back to October 29, 2013, when Kanti Shetty's torso was found inside a black plastic bag in Charai Lake in Chembur. The following day, her legs were recovered from the Trombay Jetty, and her head was located during the subsequent investigation. Police arrested Prabhakar Shetty on November 5, 2013.
In 2020, a Sessions Court convicted Prabhakar Shetty of murder. That conviction relied entirely on circumstantial evidence, including motive, witness testimony, the "last seen together" theory, call detail records (CDRs), and the recovery of the victim's body parts.
However, the Bombay High Court bench identified several critical gaps in the prosecution’s case. The judges noted that in cases relying solely on circumstantial evidence, the chain of evidence must be so complete that it leaves no reasonable ground consistent with the innocence of the accused.
The High Court found that the key witness for the "last seen" theory had recorded their statement after a significant delay, and the statement contained material contradictions. Additionally, the court ruled that the CDRs could only serve as corroborative evidence rather than independent proof of guilt.
The bench also pointed out that investigators failed to examine an unidentified mobile number that was present at the same location as the deceased around the time of the incident. The court stated that the prosecution had failed to negate the hypothesis of third-party intervention, creating a reasonable possibility that someone else was involved.
While the High Court set aside the murder conviction, it upheld Prabhakar Shetty's conviction under Section 201 of the IPC for causing the disappearance of evidence. He had been sentenced to two years' imprisonment for this offence. Because he had already spent nearly 13 years in prison, the court directed his immediate release.
