The Bombay High Court has granted bail to a 29-year-old Maharashtra’s Solapur resident, Chaitanya Kanchan Kamble, who was accused of conspiring to kill his girlfriend’s father, Mahendra Shah, following the latter’s opposition to their relationship.

Justice Ashwin D Bhobe, on July 22, 2025, ruled in favour of Kamble, observing that “Kamble’s continued incarceration was not warranted, given the nature of the allegations and the fact that the prosecution had not attributed any role to accused Chaitanya Kanchan Kamble in the crime.”

The case traces back to August 7, 2023, when Mahendra Shah was allegedly assaulted with wooden and fiber rods. He succumbed to septic shock on January 8, 2025, almost 16 months after the incident, leading authorities to add murder charges under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code.

“The cause of death of Mahendra Shah, as per the Medical Report, is ‘septic shock’. Prosecution will have to prove and establish that the death of Mahendra Shah was a result of assault, as alleged in the crime,” the bench noted in its order.

According to the prosecution, the assault was part of a premeditated plan orchestrated by Shah’s daughter, Sakshi Shah, and Kamble due to the elder Shah’s disapproval of their relationship. Kamble, however, was not named as a direct assailant.

Kamble had been in custody since August 8, 2023, just a day after the incident. His counsel, Advocate Ganesh Gupta, argued that Kamble was not present at the scene and had no role in the assault. Gupta also said that Kamble had no prior criminal record and that the trial had not yet commenced.

Despite the prosecution’s claim that the attack was deliberate and linked to Shah’s objections to his daughter’s relationship, the court found insufficient evidence to justify Kamble’s prolonged detention.

– Ends