Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar
In a significant ruling, Additional Sessions Judge Nikhil P. Mehta acquitted three accused Kailas Devre, Vinod alias Balu Vishwanath Nikale, and Nirmala Gaikwad in the murder case of Dagdu Sadafule. The judgment was delivered on Tuesday.
The accused were charged with allegedly murdering Sadafule by crushing him with a stone on the night of July 17, 2024, at Pethenagar in Bhavsingpura. The prosecution had claimed that the crime was committed over an illicit relationship. All three accused were arrested, while Nirmala Gaikwad and Balu Nikale had earlier secured bail from the High Court. Devre had been in custody for nearly two-and-a-half years.
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Case based on circumstantial evidence
The prosecution case rested entirely on circumstantial evidence, including alleged motive, a blood-stained stone recovered as the weapon, and human blood stains found on the clothes of the accused.
While delivering the verdict, the court relied on principles laid down by the Supreme Court in Shivaji Sahabrao Bobade vs State of Maharashtra (1973). It observed that even strong suspicion cannot substitute proof and that the chain of circumstances must be complete and conclusive. Finding that the chain of evidence was not fully established, the court granted the accused the benefit of doubt and acquitted them. The defence was represented by advocates Vijay Wakale and Santosh Sardar.