Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has granted bail to a 20-year-old college student accused of murdering his ailing father, citing his young age and the need to prevent him from becoming a hardened criminal.
The accused, Tejas Shamsunder Shinde, had been in jail for nearly two years after being booked for murder by Tilak Nagar Police Station, Dombivli (East), Kalyan.
The court acknowledged the seriousness of the crime but took into account the circumstances that led to the incident. Shinde, a second-year Bachelor of Management Studies student, had a strong academic record despite financial difficulties. His mother, a housemaid, supported his education while his father, a chronic alcoholic, was bedridden due to a kidney ailment.
On February 22, 2023, an argument broke out between the father and son over the victim consuming unprescribed medication. The father, who allegedly had a habit of verbally abusing the accused and his mother, continued taunting his son even after the accused had cleaned his soiled bed. Enraged, Shinde first struck his father with a milestone (weighing stone) and, when the victim persisted in abusing him, slit his throat with a kitchen knife.
After the incident, the accused locked the house, borrowed Rs100 from a neighbor, and went to the police station, where he confessed.
State’s advocate Mahalakshmi Ganapathy, opposed the bail plea, arguing that the act was “not a case of grave and sudden provocation” but a “cold-blooded murder.” She pointed to medical reports suggesting that Shinde was fully conscious of his actions.
However, defense counsel Aruna Pai highlighted the accused’s clean record and academic achievements, including 78.83% in his Higher Secondary Certificate examination. She argued that the incident was not premeditated but the result of unbearable verbal abuse. She urged the court to prioritize rehabilitation over extended incarceration.
Justice Milind Jadhav observed, “The applicant is at the threshold of his adult life. Halting his education at this stage would make it highly likely that he would be entangled in the vicious cycle of criminality.” Noting that Shinde did not attempt to flee, the court remarked, “He could have even run away had he been of a different criminal tendency.”
Granting bail on a Rs 25,000 bond, the court concluded, “This Court can only make an attempt and should make an attempt to positively impact the life of the applicant.”
