In a remarkable conclusion to a legal battle spanning nearly five decades, a Mumbai Sessions Court on Thursday acquitted an 81-year-old man who was accused of attempted murder back in 1977. The case saw its final twist when the original complainant, the man's then-girlfriend, deposed 48 years later and refused to support the prosecution's narrative.
A Case Frozen in Time: The 1977 Allegation
The saga began on October 20, 1977, when the Colaba police station arrested Chandrashekhar Kalekar, then 33 years old. The allegation was severe: following a quarrel over suspicions of her friendship with another man, Kalekar was accused of stabbing his girlfriend with a knife at Nariman Point. A month after his arrest, in November 1977, the Esplanade Court granted him bail on a surety of Rs 1,500.
However, the wheels of justice moved slowly. According to his lawyer, Sunil Pandey, the chargesheet was filed only four years later, in 1981. The proceedings faced further delays when Kalekar failed to appear before the Sessions Court. Consequently, in October 1984, the court issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against him.
The Long Road to Trial and a Hostile Witness
For decades, the case lay dormant. Sessions Judge AP Kulkarni noted in the acquittal order that the NBW against Kalekar "remained unexecuted till September 2025." Finally, on October 14, 2025, the now 81-year-old Kalekar was arrested, produced before the court, and sent to judicial custody. He was granted bail three days later, on October 17.
The trial, held last month, hinged on the testimony of the sole eyewitness—the complainant herself. In a virtual deposition on November 26, 2025, nearly 48 years after the incident, the woman, who was not in India, did not support the prosecution's case. She denied any knowledge of the assault or even the accused, leading the court to label her a hostile witness.
Defence counsel Pandey stated that since the informant did not support the prosecution, there was no need for further cross-examination. The prosecution, represented by Additional Public Prosecutor Anand Sukhadeve, filed a report stating that other witnesses were untraceable.
Acquittal for Want of Evidence
With the star witness turning hostile and no other evidence forthcoming, Judge Kulkarni had little choice. The judge reasoned that the witness had "left loyalty towards prosecution" and the evidence was insufficient to prove the charges framed under section 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code.
"Therefore, the evidence against the accused is insufficient to prove the charges levelled against him. Hence, I have no hesitation to hold that the prosecution failed to prove the charge against the accused, and the accused is entitled to be acquitted," Judge Kulkarni stated in the order.
The acquittal brings a definitive end to a case that haunted the accused from his early thirties into his octogenarian years, highlighting the extraordinary delays possible within the judicial system and the pivotal role of witness testimony.
