Pune: Bombay HC Grants Bail to Alleged Shooter Sharad Kalaskar in Dabholkar Murder Case; Convicted by Sessions Court Last Year
Mumbai, 29th April 2026: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday granted bail to Sharad Bhausaheb Kalaskar, who was convicted in the 2013 killing of rationalist Dr Narendra Dabholkar, while observing prima facie doubts over his identification as one of the shooters.
Kalaskar had approached the court through an interim application in his appeal challenging the conviction awarded by a special court last year.
A division bench of Justices Ajey S Gadkari and Ranjitsinha R Bhonsale said, “Application allowed. Bail be granted on usual conditions.”
When the prosecution sought a four-week stay on the order to enable it to move the Supreme Court, the High Court declined the request. The bench said that since it had prima facie expressed doubts regarding the identity of the applicant as the assailant, the plea for stay was rejected.
The court clarified that its observations were linked to the Test Identification Parade (TIP), which had been conducted by a CBI officer inside his chamber.
Dr Dabholkar, 67, founder of the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti and a prominent anti-superstition campaigner, was shot dead by two motorcycle-borne men in Pune on August 20, 2013.
In May 2024, a special court convicted Kalaskar and Sachin Prakashrao Andure for the murder and sentenced both to life imprisonment. Three other accused in the case— alleged mastermind Dr Virendrasinh Sharadchandra Tawade, advocate Sanjiv Gajanan Punalekar and activist Vikram Vinay Bhave — were acquitted citing lack of sufficient evidence.
Kalaskar had also secured bail last year in the murder case of CPI leader Govind Pansare, as the court had noted his prolonged incarceration of nearly seven years and delay in completion of trial.
