The Bombay High Court on Thursday upheld the murder conviction of Jitendra Rana in the 2011 killing of Keenan Santos and Reuben Fernandez in Mumbai, while setting aside the murder convictions of two other accused. The Court also modified Rana’s punishment from life imprisonment to a fixed term of 20 years without remission.
A Division Bench of Justices M S Karnik and Sandesh Patil delivered the ruling on appeals challenging the sentences awarded by a special court in 2016.
The High Court found that the murder charges against Sunil Both and Deepak Piwal could not be sustained. However, it maintained their convictions for causing simple hurt and upheld the one-year prison terms imposed on them by the trial court.
Both and Piwal are likely to be released if they are not required to remain in custody in connection with any other case.
Court Modifies Sentence of Jitendra Rana
While maintaining Rana’s conviction for murder, the Bench considered his age in deciding to alter the punishment.
The Court reduced his life sentence to 20 years of imprisonment, expressly ruling out any remission during that period.
“Considering his age, we are reducing the life sentence to 20 years in jail but without any remission,” the Bench observed.
Rana had been convicted by the special court in 2016 for murder and molestation. Another accused, Satish Dulgaj, had also been convicted on both charges.
Dulgaj died while the appeals against the trial court’s verdict were pending before the High Court.
2011 Attack Followed Confrontation Over Alleged Harassment
The case arose from an incident outside an eatery in Amboli, in Mumbai’s Andheri area, on October 20, 2011.
Santos and Fernandez were attacked after confronting a group of men accused of harassing their two female friends. Both men suffered fatal stab injuries.
According to the prosecution, the confrontation escalated when Santos and Fernandez slapped one of the accused. The group then left the location after allegedly threatening to kill them.
The prosecution alleged that the accused subsequently returned carrying knives, a cricket stump and a large bamboo stick, and attacked the two men.
Defence lawyers disputed the allegation that any molestation had taken place. They maintained that the altercation began after the victims slapped one of the accused.
Four Accused Were Sentenced to Life Imprisonment in 2016
The special court had found Rana, Dulgaj, Both and Piwal guilty of murder and other offences in 2016 and sentenced all four to life imprisonment.
The accused challenged the verdict before the Bombay High Court.
In its ruling on Thursday, the High Court distinguished the criminal liability of the surviving appellants. It retained Rana’s murder conviction with a modified sentence, while limiting the convictions of Both and Piwal to the offence of causing simple hurt.
The decision comes 15 years after the killings, which followed the confrontation over the alleged harassment of the victims’ female friends.
