Bombay High Court Refuses Bail To Convict In Minor Girl’s Rape And Murder Case Pending Appeal, Appreciates the Legal Aid, Advocate Shashikant Damodarlal Chandak for His Arguments and EFforts
The Bombay High Court has declined to suspend the sentence and grant bail to Mehandi Hasan Muhammad Mustak Shaikh in a case involving the rape and murder of a five-year-old girl. A Division Bench comprising Justice A. S. Gadkari and Justice Kamal Khata passed the order on March 6, 2026 while rejecting Interim Application No. 2892 of 2025 in Appeal No. 464 of 2025, which sought suspension of sentence and release on bail during the pendency of the appeal.
The application was received through jail. The Court heard Advocate Shashikant Damodarlal Chandak, who appeared along with Advocate Kanchan Shashikant Chandak for the applicant. Additional Public Prosecutor Madhavi H. Mhatre represented the State of Maharashtra. The Bench also perused the record placed before it.
Facts of the Case
According to the prosecution case, the victim girl was about five years old at the time of the incident and was the daughter of PW-2. On the intervening night of February 6 and 7, 2019, the deceased was sleeping with her parents on a footpath near Razzak Manzil on L.J. Road in Mahim (West), Mumbai. During that night, the applicant allegedly abducted the minor girl, committed rape on her and murdered her. An offence was therefore registered under Sections 302, 376(A), 376(B) and 363 of the Indian Penal Code read with Sections 6 and 10 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The police later received information that a minor girl was lying in a lane behind the Living In showroom. Police officers rushed to the location and took the victim to the police station, where she was found to be dead. The informer identified the body as that of his daughter. During the investigation, the investigating agency examined CCTV footage from the surrounding area. The footage revealed that the applicant was seen carrying the minor victim on his shoulder during the intervening night of the incident.
Court Findings and Remarks
The Court noted that PW-8 identified the applicant as the same person seen in the CCTV footage and also identified him during substantive evidence before the Court. PW-8 also described various habits of the applicant to support the identification from the CCTV footage.
The Bench further referred to the testimony of PW-6, who conducted the autopsy on the body of the minor girl. A perusal of the medical evidence indicated that the victim had been sexually assaulted and had suffered several external and internal injuries. The cause of death was recorded as “asphyxia following strangulation with genital injuries.”
After examining the evidence on record, the High Court observed that it prima facie appeared that the applicant had committed a “brutal and horrific murder” of the minor victim.
In view of these circumstances, the Bench held that it was not inclined to suspend the sentence of the applicant or release him on bail during the pendency of the appeal. The interim application was accordingly rejected.
Before concluding the order, the Court placed on record its appreciation for the efforts made by the advocate appointed by the Legal Aid Committee, Adv Shashikant Damodarlal Chandak in espousing the cause of the applicant.
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