MUMBAI, June 18 -- The Bombay High Court on Wednesday issued notices in connection with the 2021 murder of 19-year-old Jhanvi Kukreja to her childhood friend and acquitted accused Diya Padalkar and the state government, seeking their response to the deceased's mother's plea challenging the acquittal. In a petition filed in March, Jhanvi's mother Nidhi Kukreja contended that Padalkar was actively involved in her daughter's murder and her acquittal was "erroneous and illogical" as the trial court failed to properly assess the cumulative weight of circumstantial evidence and misapplied the legal standard of "benefit of doubt". Jhanvi was found lying in a pool of blood on the staircase of a multi-storeyed building in Khar in the early hours of January 1, 2021, following a New Year's Eve party at the terrace. During the trial, witnesses told the sessions court that she was in a relationship with Ambadas Jogdhankar, 26, and became upset after seeing him flirt with Padalkar during the party. She left the terrace crying and headed towards the staircase, with Jogdhankar and Padalkar following her. An argument ensued between the trio, witnesses said. Forensic evidence revealed a scuffle beginning around the eighth floor, with bloodstains and strands of hair found from the fifth floor onwards. The trial court concluded that Jogdhankar had pushed Jhanvi from the second floor, causing fatal injuries. Padalkar, though present at the scene, was acquitted, because apart from a minor lip injury, she had no other marks of violence, nor were her clothes bloodstained or torn. "The absence of such injuries makes her involvement in the fatal assault doubtful," the court had said, granting her the benefit of doubt....