Shraddha Walkar Murder Case: Delhi HC Declines Time-Bound Trial Plea

Published 31 July 2026 · local

Shraddha Walkar Murder Case: Delhi HC Declines Time-Bound Trial Plea Published By, Last Updated: July 31, 2026, 14:18 IST The observation came while hearing a

Shraddha Walkar Murder Case: Delhi HC Declines Time-Bound Trial Plea Published By, Last Updated: July 31, 2026, 14:18 IST The observation came while hearing a petition filed by Walkar’s brother, who had sought a direction to the trial court to conclude the case within a fixed timeline. Rapid Read Aaftab Poonawala, 28, allegedly strangled Shraddha Walkar and sawed her body into 35 pieces. (ANI) The Delhi High Court on Friday refused to issue any direction for the time-bound completion of the trial in the Shraddha Walkar murder case, noting that the proceedings are already being conducted on a day-to-day basis. A bench led by Justice Madhu Jain said, “No further direction is required to be passed at this stage, since the trial is happening on a day-to-day basis." The observation came while hearing a petition filed by Walkar’s brother, who had sought a direction to the trial court to conclude the case within a fixed timeline.

In the plea, Walkar’s brother argued that despite the arrest of accused Aftab Amin Poonawala in November 2022 and the completion of the investigation supported by medical, forensic and digital evidence, the trial had not progressed as swiftly as expected. He contended that the delay had caused continuing anguish to the family because Shraddha’s dismembered remains are still being preserved as material exhibits by the investigating agency and the trial court. According to the petition, the prolonged pendency of the case has prevented the family from performing her last rites. “The inability to perform these rites for years has caused immense emotional, psychological and spiritual trauma, which continues each day that the remains are withheld," the plea stated. Opposing the request, Delhi Police counsel Amit Prasad informed the High Court that the trial court was hearing the matter daily, except on weekends, and was making every effort to bring the proceedings to a close at the earliest.

Prasad told the court that the prosecution had originally listed 222 witnesses. Statements of 157 witnesses have already been recorded. He added that six witnesses are yet to be examined, while the cross-examination of 14 witnesses remains pending. The prosecution has already dropped 15 witnesses and is likely to drop another 23. The case stems from allegations that on May 18, 2022, 28-year-old Poonawala strangled his live-in partner Shraddha Walkar following an argument. Investigators have alleged that he later dismembered her body and stored the remains in a refrigerator at his residence in Chattarpur Pahari before disposing of them in a nearby forest over several days. In January 2023, Delhi Police filed a chargesheet accusing Poonawala of murder, abduction and destruction of evidence. The chargesheet alleged that he used a knife, scissors and a saw to dismember Walkar’s body and claimed he was angered by her conversations with a person she had met through a dating application.