Today, On 17th September, The Supreme Court has revoked gangster Chhota Rajan’s bail in the 2001 murder case of hotelier Jaya Shetty, allowing the CBI’s appeal. The apex court questioned, “Why suspension of sentence to such a man?” highlighting strict accountability.
The Supreme Court revoked the bail previously granted to gangster Chhota Rajan in connection with the 2001 murder of hotelier Jaya Shetty in Mumbai.
A bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta upheld the CBI’s appeal against an October 23 order from the Bombay High Court, which had suspended Rajan’s life sentence and granted him bail.
The court noted that Rajan had been a fugitive for 27 years and had convictions in four separate cases.
The bench questioned,
“Why suspension of sentence to such a man?”
In his defense, Rajan’s counsel claimed that there was no evidence against him, stating that out of 71 cases, the CBI found insufficient material in 47 and subsequently closed those investigations. He acknowledged Rajan’s conviction in another murder case, where he received a life sentence.
Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju, representing the CBI, pointed out that the high court had improperly suspended the life sentence related to Rajan’s case.
The bench responded,
“We will cancel the bail in this.”
When the defense argued about the lack of evidence, the bench retorted,
“your name itself is big enough.”
The bench further remarked that the acquittals in several cases were primarily due to witnesses not coming forward.
Ultimately, the court granted the CBI’s appeal and nullified Rajan’s bail bond, noting that he was already in judicial custody for another conviction.
In May 2024, a special court found Rajan guilty in the murder of Shetty and sentenced him to life imprisonment. Rajan subsequently appealed this conviction in the high court, seeking to have the sentence suspended and to be granted bail in the interim.
Shetty, the owner of the Golden Crown hotel in Gamdevi, central Mumbai, was shot by two alleged members of Rajan’s gang on the hotel’s first floor on May 4, 2001.
Investigations revealed that Shetty had received extortion threats from Hemant Pujari, a known associate of Rajan, and was murdered for his failure to comply with the demands.
Rajan is already serving a life sentence for the murder of veteran crime reporter J.D.ey.