MUMBAI: Incarcerated artist Chintan Upadhyay, accused in a double murder case , will continue to remain behind bars as the Supreme Court on Thursday declined his plea for bail but directed that the trial be completed within nine months.The apex court dismissed Upadhyay’s bail petition after recording in its order a statement made by the Maharashtra government that it would complete the trial in nine months after framing charges.The SC bench of Justices Rohinton Nariman and Vineet Saran directed the state to appoint a new special public prosecutor the SPP within one week.The artist and four others were arrested in a case of a December 2015 murder of his artist wife Hema and her lawyer Haresh Bhambhani.The artist had been in custody since December 2015. He had submitted that there was “not enough material" against him and questioned the submissions made by the prosecution to try him for murder. His counsel in court, Siddharth Luthra, sought bail for him on ground of merit and delay in trial.He argued that an incriminating diary entry referred to by the prosecution didn’t exist as proved by an RTI reply. The police had claimed that there was a diary entry where Upadhyay had referred to his enmity towards Hema. Luthra also pointed out that there was no special prosecutor yet appointed, despite the state seeking time last month to appoint one. There “was undue delay hence he deserved bail,’’ he said.But the state’s advocate Nishant Katneshwarkar submitted an affidavit to have his plea dismissed. It pointed to his "conduct" of filing applications to try and protract the trial. Before framing of the charge, Upadhyay had filed for discharge which the HC had rejected, it said.The state said that after framing of charge, the trial can be concluded within nine months which the SC bench took into account in its order on Thursday.The state said that on 12/12/2015 at about 06:30pm Kandivali Police Station had received information that "two huge brown paper corrugated parcels were lying in drainage near the burial-ground road at Dahanukarwadi in front of Sheetal-Sameer Co-operative Housing Society". The police officer had rushed to the spot. "Upon opening those two parcels, they had seen dead bodies of one female and one male. Crime was registered under section 302 (murder), 201(destruction of evidence), 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code against unknown person at the time".The state said that in the course of investigation, the police had "traced the call details record of Hema" and that "on the day of the incident i.e. on 11/12/2015 she had made calls to one Vidhyadhar Rajbhar, who owned studio at Kandivali..."" who she and Upadhyay were acquainted with as artists.The prosecution had on January 25 sought an adjournment before the trial court over appointment of new SPP which it said would around two to three weeks.

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