On Wednesday, the Bombay High Court reduced the life term of gangster Chhota Rajan for the 2001 murder of hotelier Jaya Shetty and offered him bail for the case. Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Prithviraj Chavan of a division bench directed that Chhota Rajan execute a bond of ₹ 1 lakh for his release. However, he will continue to serve his term in prison for other criminal offenses charges against him to be determined.
Chhota Rajan was earlier convicted by a special court in May for the Shetty murder case, which earned him a life behind bars. After that, he sought an appeal in the Bombay High Court and applied for suspension of the sentence to be released on bail until his appeal was heard.
Jaya Shetty the owner of Golden Crown hotel in Gamdevi central Mumbai, was shot dead on the first floor of her hotel by two accused belonging to Chhota Rajan’s gang on 4th May, 2001. Probes showed that Shetty had been receiving calls from extortion, Hemant Pujari, Rajan’s gang member. The reason for the murder was associated with failure to meet the requirements made by the so-called extortionists, according to Shetty.
This man, Chhota Rajan, is not unfamiliar with the criminal justice system. He is already under life imprisonment for the murder of crime reporter J Dey. Now he is at Tihar Jail in New Delhi. This was evident when the court decided to suspend the sentence of Rajan in Shetty’s case, making it clear that after many years of practicing, the Indian legal system still has a long way to go in handling criminal offenses as well as appeals from high-profile individuals. Although the effects of this verdict should engage debates in legal and criminal arenas Rajan’s appeal moves from one stage to another.
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