India, Aug. 8 -- Sharad Kalaskar, 31, who was convicted in May 2024 by a Pune trial court for the 2013 murder of rationalist and anti-superstition activist Dr Narendra Dabholkar, told the Bombay High Court on Thursday that no prima facie case had been established against him during the investigation and that no evidence was led against him at trial.

Kalaskar has filed an appeal against his conviction and sought bail before a division bench of justice Suman Shyam and justice Shyam Chandak.

Appearing on Kalaskar's behalf, advocate Nitin Pradhan argued that the prosecution had failed to produce any evidence linking his client to the Sanatan Sanstha, a Hindu nationalist organisation that has been under scrutiny for its alleged role in the m...