A Mumbai court granted bail to Aditya Pandit, boyfriend of deceased Air India pilot Srishti Tuli, who allegedly died by suicide. Pandit was arrested for abetment after claims of relationship tensions. His lawyer argued no evidence supported the charges, stating Tuli could have exited the relationship if unhappy. No prior complaints or suicide notes were found.
Mumbai: A Mumbai court has granted bail to Aditya Pandit, the 27-year-old boyfriend of Air India pilot Srishti Tuli, who was found dead last month. The tragic incident took place in her rented flat at the ‘Kanakia Rain Forest’ building in Marol on November 25. Tuli, aged 25, allegedly died by suicide, and Pandit was arrested the next day under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) section 108 for abetment of suicide.
Pandit’s bail was approved by Additional Sessions Judge (Dindoshi court) T.T. Aglawe, though the detailed order is still awaited.
According to the complaint filed by Tuli’s father, the couple had been staying together for five to six days before the incident. On the day of the tragedy, Pandit had reportedly left for Delhi. The complaint alleged that differences over food preferences created tension between the two.
“Tuli was a non-vegetarian and the accused a vegetarian. Pandit constantly put pressure on Tuli to change her food habits, which may have led her to commit suicide,”
claimed the father.
Pandit’s lawyer, Aniket Nikam, argued that there was no evidence to suggest abetment of suicide.
“Merely because there were some fights between both of them, it would not mean that the applicant had any criminal intent,”
Nikam stated.
He emphasized that for a charge of abetment, there must be clear evidence showing that the deceased was left with no alternative but to end her life. Nikam further added,
“This was not so in the present case. The deceased was an educated lady. If she was unhappy in the relationship, she could have always walked out of it, or if she was being harassed by the accused, she could have complained about it.”
The lawyer also noted that there was no prior complaint or suicide note left by Tuli, making the abetment charges unfounded.
In his bail application, Pandit explained his actions on the day of the incident. He mentioned that while traveling to Delhi, he repeatedly called Tuli but received no response. Concerned, he rushed back to Mumbai, only to find the flat door locked from inside.
Pandit said he called a key maker to open the door and found Tuli hanging.
“On finding his girlfriend hanging in the flat, he, as a law-abiding citizen, rushed her to the hospital in order to save her life. However, the said effort became infructuous,”
the petition stated.
He further argued,
“It is submitted that without admitting any of the allegations, even if the entire FIR is taken as it is, it does not indicate any such abetment of suicide. Only because an FIR has been registered by the respondents, the applicant (Pandit) came to be arrested.”
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