The Bombay High Court has granted temporary bail to Sohail Ansari, a 31-year-old murder convict, to enable him to appear for his first-year law examinations. The decision was passed by a division bench comprising Justices G.S. Kulkarni and Advait Sethna on Friday, taking into account Ansari’s academic pursuits and good conduct in custody.
Ansari was convicted in 2021 by a sessions court in Dindoshi for the murder of his neighbour, Ramesh Jadhav, during a violent altercation that occurred in Malad during Diwali in 2014. The sessions court found that Ansari, along with three others — Yusufali Wali Mohammed Sajida, Imran Anwar Kazi, and Gullu Wali Mohammed Sajida — physically assaulted local residents, including two brothers and their mother. When Jadhav and his cousin Rajesh attempted to intervene, Ansari reportedly went home, returned with a sword, and attacked Jadhav and one of the women, causing fatal injuries to Jadhav.
“Sohail hurriedly went to his home and returned with a sword and inflicted blows on Dayaben Trivedi’s hand and Ramesh Jadhav’s body,” the trial court noted in its judgment before sentencing him to life imprisonment.
In 2023, Ansari challenged his conviction before the High Court, citing procedural lapses and gaps in evidence, including delays in recovering CCTV footage and inconsistencies in eyewitness testimonies. He had earlier approached the court in May 2024, seeking bail to appear for the Maharashtra Common Entrance Test (CET) for law.
Taking into account his age, educational aspirations, and good behaviour during incarceration, the High Court granted temporary bail to allow Ansari to sit for his law exams.
