SC revokes bail granted to Chhota Rajan in 2016 Jaya Shetty murder case

NEW DELHI: The Apex Court of India on Wednesday set aside the October 23, 2024, order of the Bombay High Court in which bail had been granted to underworld don Rajendra Sadashiv Nikalje, alias Chhota Rajan, in the 2016 murder case of Mumbai hotelier Jaya Shetty.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had challenged the High Court’s decision by filing a Special Leave Petition (SLP) before the apex court. Allowing the CBI’s plea, the Supreme Court cancelled the bail and restored the trial court’s directions.

On May 30, 2024, the trial court had found Chhota Rajan guilty of plotting the killing of hotelier Jaya Shetty on his refusal to pay extortion money. The court sentenced him to life imprisonment and a fine.

After the conviction, Rajan approached the Bombay High Court in appeal. In the pendency of his criminal appeal, he made a criminal interim application for bail, which was allowed by the High Court on October 23, 2024.

The Supreme Court, cancelling the bail today, noted that the seriousness of the offence and the conviction of the trial court justified continued custody of the accused until the High Court adjudicates the pending appeal.

Chhota Rajan, one of the early associates of Dawood Ibrahim before they parted ways, has been convicted in several cases of extortion, murder, and crime syndicate since his deportation to India in 2015.