A SESSIONS court has rejected the bail application of 20-year-old Siddhant Ganore for the second time observing that there is no evidence of him having an unsound mind. The court relied on a mental health report submitted by a team of three doctors from the state-run J J Hospital.
“It is reported thereby that there is no evidence of pychopathology at present. The report reveals the conclusion of no evidence of unsoundness of mind. It also reveals the opinion that the accused is fit to stand trial,” the court said in an order that was passed recently.
Siddhant was arrested from Rajasthan on May 26 last year, three days after his mother Deepali was found murdered in their Vakola home. The second bail application filed by Siddhant’s father, police inspector Dyaneshwar Ganore, had sought his release pending trial on the ground that he is of an unsound mind and therefore, incapable of presenting his defence, as per provisions of Section 330 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Additional sessions judge Shayana Patil had directed the Chief Medical Officer of Arthur Road jail, where Siddhant is lodged, to refer him to a psychiatrist/clinical psychiatrist and submit a report in the court.
Siddhant’s mental health report was submitted in court after an examination by a committee of three doctors from the departments of psychology and psychiatry of J J Hospital. The report said Siddhant was taken to the hospital on four occasions – once in September last year and three times in January this year.
In November 2017, the court had rejected the first bail application, also filed by Siddhant’s father, observing that there was nothing to believe at that stage that Siddhant was suffering from any mental illness. Since no medical report was submitted from J J Hospital at that time, the court had relied on his medical case papers of his treatment in jail.
“In view of the mental health report submitted by the three-doctor committee of J J Hospital, psychiatry department, the accused is not found to be suffering from any unsoundness of mind. The accused is not found to be incapable of entering a defence by unsoundness of mind or mental retardation. Under the circumstances, the accused is made out to stand trial and submit his defence in the trial,” the court said.
Siddhant, a college student, was booked on charges of murder, after he was found absconding following his mother’s murder on May 23. That day, Dyaneshwar returned to his Vakola home around 11.30 pm but did not get any response after knocking at the door. He eventually entered the house at 3 am and found his wife lying in a pool of blood. Siddhant was missing since then and was arrested on May 26. The police had found a message written in blood next to Deepali’s body that said: “Tired of her, catch me and hang me :)”.
The defence advocate in the case, Vaibhav Bagade, had earlier relied on the forensic report by a handwriting analysis expert, which was inconclusive about who had written the message. He had claimed that there was no evidence to show that Siddhant had committed the murder.
sadaf.modak@expressindia.com
For all the latest Mumbai News, download Indian Express App
