New Delhi, Jul 31 (PTI) The Supreme Court has granted bail to a man accused of murdering a former media marketing professional and a hotelier in Mumbai in 2019.

A bench of Justices Manoj Misra and Ujjal Bhuyan noted that the accused Sarang Patharkar has been in jail for six years.

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"We have considered the submissions. Having regard to the fact that the appellant has already suffered incarceration of about six years pending trial, and it is not pointed out that he has previous criminal antecedents, we are of the view that it is a fit case where the appellant be released on bail pending conclusion of the trial," the bench said.

The appellant (Patharkar) shall be released on bail on such conditions as the trial court concerned may deem fit to impose in the facts and circumstances of the case, the apex court said.

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Advocate Sana Raees Khan, appearing for Patharkar, submitted that the accused has no previous criminal antecedent and the prosecution case is based on circumstantial evidence.

She contended that Patharkar has already suffered incarceration of about six years pending trial.

The counsel for Maharashtra opposed grant of bail and submitted that it is a case of murder and 19 out of 51 witnesses have been examined thus far and if the accused is released on bail, the trial may be hampered.

The Bombay High Court on August 19, 2024 had rejected Patharkar's bail plea.

Anand Narayan, a resident of Antop Hill in Mumbai's Sion, was found in a pool of blood. He used to work in the sales team of a Mumbai-based Marathi news channel.

Pathrudkar allegedly killed Narayan over a financial dispute relating to a hotel which they had started in partnership.

A case under Section 302 (murder) of Indian Penal Code was registered at Antop Hill police station.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)