Archive · 27 Dec 2025
Bombay HC acquits three men in 2012 gangrape, murder case
The Bombay High Court has set free three men who were sentenced to life in prison in 2019 for the gangrape and murder of a 19-year-old woman in 2012.
The court said the prosecution did not prove enough evidence to show that the men were guilty.
The victim's body was found in 2012 with signs of strangulation and a vaginal tear.
The prosecution claimed the men took the victim to a spot, forced her to drink alcohol, gangraped her, and then strangled her to death.
However, the court found that the prosecution's story had reasonable doubts and that the police might have planted witnesses.
Therefore, the court decided to acquit the three men.
The Bombay High Court acquitted three men who were convicted in 2019 for the gangrape and murder of a 19-year-old woman in 2012.
The court found that the prosecution failed to prove the chain of circumstances and the motive for the crime.
The victim's body was found in October 2012 with hands tied, and the postmortem report revealed the cause of death as throttling and a vaginal tear.
The prosecution claimed the men took the victim to a spot, forced her to consume liquor, gangraped her, and strangled her to death.
The court observed that there was reasonable doubt about the prosecution's story and the possibility of witnesses being planted by the police.
- Who
- Three men convicted in 2019 for gangrape and murder of a 19-year-old woman in 2012
- What
- Bombay High Court acquitted the three men, setting aside their conviction and life sentence
- When
- The verdict was passed on December 24, 2023
- Where
- Sangli, Maharashtra, India
- Why
- The prosecution failed to prove the chain of circumstances, including the motive for the crime, and there was reasonable doubt about the veracity of the prosecution's story
- Case Year
- 2012
- Conviction Year
- 2019
- Appeal Year
- 2023
- Victim Age
- 19
- Charges
- Murder, Gangrape, Causing Disappearance of Evidence, Acts with Common Intention
- Court Observation
- Prosecution failed to prove motive and chain of circumstances
- Judges
- Justices Suman Shyam and Shyam C Chandak
