Bombay High Court Issues Notice in Jhanvi Kukreja Murder Case Appeal Against Acquittal

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday issued notice to Diya Padalkar and the State of Maharashtra in an appeal filed by Niddhi Prakash Kukreja, challenging Padalkar's acquittal in her daughter Jhanvi Kukreja's murder case. A bench of Justices Ajay Gadkari and Kamal Khata scheduled the matter for hearing after six weeks.

Jhanvi Kukreja, a psychology student from Santacruz, was killed on New Year's Eve 2021 at Bhagwati Heights, Khar. The sessions court in January convicted her friend Ambadas Jogdhankar and sentenced him to life imprisonment, finding he pushed her from the second floor. However, it acquitted Padalkar, citing lack of injuries and doubts about her involvement.

The appeal contends that the trial court's acquittal was based on "unfounded and illogical assumptions" and that Padalkar's presence and complicity are established by forensic and circumstantial evidence that the lower court disregarded.