Supreme Court overturns Bombay HC order, reinstates Gangster Chhota Rajan life sentence in 2001 Jaya Shetty murder case due to multiple past convictions.
Delhi, New Delhi: In a landmark decision, the Bombay High Court’s bail for Gangster Chhota Rajan sentence in the 2001 Jaya Shetty murder case was revoked by the Supreme Court. “If he has been convicted in four cases, why should the sentence of such a man in this case remain suspended?” said a panel of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta during the hearing. The case concerns hotelier Jaya Shetty’s 2001 murder. In May of last year, a special court found Chhota Rajan guilty of the murder and sentenced him to life in jail. Rajan had filed an appeal with the Bombay High Court challenging this decision. The Bombay High Court gave him bail and suspended his sentence on October 23, 2024. The Supreme Court, however, overturned the High Court’s ruling after the CBI appealed this ruling there.
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Rejecting the defense argument
Rajan’s attorney contended that the CBI had not discovered any evidence against him in 47 of 71 cases. The Supreme Court, however, rejected this plea. The court made it clear that Gangster Chhota Rajan does not have to turn himself up again because he is already serving life sentences in previous cases.
Threats of extortion prior to murder
The prosecution claims that Chhota Rajan’s gang had been threatening victim Jaya Shetty, who owned the Golden Crown hotel in South Mumbai, with extortion. Police protection was granted to Shetty, but it was revoked two months prior to the murder. Two suspected gang members shot Shetty dead outside his workplace on May 4, 2001, after he allegedly refused to fulfill a demand of Rs 50,000.
2024 special MCOCA court decision
For his involvement in the murder, Chhota Rajan was given a life sentence by a Special MCOCA court in Mumbai in May 2024. He was found guilty of several charges: In accordance with Sections 302 (murder) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy), Rajan received a life sentence and a Rs. 1,000,000 fine. A year of simple jail would be added for nonpayment of the fine.
He received life sentences and fines of Rs. 5,00,000 apiece under Sections 3(1)(i), 3(2), and 3(4). Each count would carry an additional one-year simple imprisonment if these fines were not paid.
Gangster Chhota Rajan : Complete penalty and fine
All four life sentences will run simultaneously, the court decided. Chhota Rajan was fined a total of Rs 16,00,000. But he was exonerated of accusations under the Arms Act’s Sections 3, 25, and 27. Rajan received a second life sentence for this. He was already serving time for killing veteran journalist Jyotirmoy Dey in 2011. In October 2015, Rajan was taken into custody in Bali and subsequently sent back to India. In Maharashtra, he was involved in 71 criminal cases, all of which were turned over to the CBI.