Double Murder Case: Court Refuses To Suspend Life Sentence Of Chintan Upadhyay

The Bombay High Court on Monday refused to suspend the life sentence and grant bail to artist Chintan Upadhyay, convicted for abetting and conspiring to kill his estranged wife Hema Upadhyay and her lawyer Haresh Bhambani in December 2015.

Mr Upadhyay had moved the high court in October challenging a sessions court order convicting him and sentencing him to life imprisonment.

Mr Upadhyay in his appeal said that the trial court had erred in its judgement, which lacks proper and cogent evidence and reasoning to convict him.

Pending hearing on his appeal, Upadhyay had urged the HC to suspend his sentence and release him on bail.

A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Gauri Godse on Monday rejected Mr Upadhyay’s application.

The HC will hear Mr Upadhyay’s appeal against the conviction order in due course.

Hema and her lawyer Haresh Bhambhani were killed on December 11, 2015, and the bodies were stuffed into cardboard boxes and thrown into a ditch in Kandivali area of Mumbai.

Additional sessions judge S Y Bhosale of the Dindoshi court on October 5 held Chintan guilty of abetting and conspiring to kill his wife.

Three other accused, tempo driver Vijay Rajbhar and helpers Pradeep Rajbhar and Shivkumar Rajbhar, who worked with the absconding accused and art fabricator Vidyadhar Rajbhar, were found guilty of the double murder.