HighLights
  1. Uttarakhand High Court rejected bail for Ankita Bhandari convicts.
  2. Pulkit Arya, Saurabh Bhaskar, Ankit Gupta denied relief.
  3. Court upheld life imprisonment for murder, evidence destruction.

Jagran Correspondent, Nainital | Uttarakhand High Court on Wednesday rejected the bail applications of Pulkit Arya, Saurabh Bhaskar, and Ankit Gupta, the convicts in the much-talked-about Ankita Bhandari murder case. After a two-day hearing, a division bench of Justices Ravindra Maithani and Siddharth Shah refused to give relief to all three accused.

During the hearing before the division bench on Wednesday, the three convicts presented their side and made several arguments in their defence, which the court rejected.

Lower Court Sentenced Accused For Life

On May 30 last year, Kotdwar's then Additional District and Sessions Judge, Reena Negi, convicted the accused of Ankita's murder and destroying evidence, sentencing them to life imprisonment. Later, a special appeal was filed on behalf of the accused against this order. The accused had appealed for release on bail. After a two-day hearing, the court rejected their bail petitions.

ALSO READ: Ankita Bhandari's Parents Narrowly Escape Bear Attack While Returning From CM Dhami's House After Meet

Earlier on June 30, the Uttarakhand High Court declined to grant interim relief to the convicts in the Ankita Bhandari murder case. Seeking suspension of sentence and bail, the convicts argued that Ankita had died by suicide and that there were no direct eyewitnesses to the incident.

Opposing the plea, the State and the victim's family submitted that crucial evidence was destroyed after the incident, including demolition of parts of the resort, tampering with CCTV footage and the DVR. It was further submitted that forensic evidence and WhatsApp chats linked the convicts to the crime.

ALSO READ: Ankita Bhandari Murder Case: BJP's Dushyant Gautam Files Rs 2 Cr Defamation Suit Against AAP, Congress, 7 Others

As per the case, they were convicted by the Kotdwar District Court on May 30, 2025, under various sections of the IPC for assault, murder and tampering of evidence. Arya and Bhaskar were thus incarcerated for life after the prosecution examined 47 witnesses. They have challenged the conviction before the High Court while seeking bail during the pendency of their appeals.
(With Jagran.com/PTI inputs)


Also In News