'Finding 'kalash' is not a crime’: Court sets aside summons in Lilavati Hospital 'black magic' case
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Mumbai, Oct 31 : In a significant development in the much-discussed Lilavati Hospital black magic case, the Greater Mumbai Sessions Court at Mazgaon has quashed the summons issued against Niket Vijay Mehta, observing that merely finding ritual pots (kalash) buried beneath the floor does not constitute a criminal offence.
Additional Sessions Judge Kunal Dhanaji Jadhav allowed Criminal Revision Application No. 01 of 2026 and set aside the order passed on December 8, 2025, by the Judicial Magistrate First Class, 12th Court, Bandra, Mumbai.
In fact, a complaint had been filed by Prashant Mehta, in which he claimed to be a permanent trustee of the Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust. In the complaint, Prashant alleged that after taking over the trust's administration following a Supreme Court order dated September 18, 2023, eight copper pots were discovered beneath the floor of his cabin on September 21, 2024.
The pots contained human remains, rice, hair, ash and other materials suspected to be associated with black magic rituals, he alleged. In the complaint, he accused former management members, including Niket Mehta and six others, of performing occult practices to gain supernatural blessings and harm the trustees.
But the Sessions Court identified several shortcomings in the complaint and in the evidence that was presented. The court observed that there was no clear explanation of who buried the pots, when they were buried or what specific role each accused allegedly played.
The court also underlined the absence of forensic evidence that could establish whether the recovered bones were human remains or whether the hair and other materials were linked to any unlawful activity.
What is also important is that the judge remarked that burying ritual pots containing rice, sacred water, coins or other materials can form part of customary Hindu practices associated with Vastu and religious ceremonies.
The court asserted that such practices cannot automatically be treated as criminal acts without evidence of prohibited conduct or an intention to cause harm, deception or fear.
Concluding that the magistrate's summoning order was legally unsustainable and lacked sufficient grounds, the Sessions Court allowed the revision application and quashed the summons against Niket Mehta.
Additional Sessions Judge Kunal Dhanaji Jadhav allowed Criminal Revision Application No. 01 of 2026 and set aside the order passed on December 8, 2025, by the Judicial Magistrate First Class, 12th Court, Bandra, Mumbai.
In fact, a complaint had been filed by Prashant Mehta, in which he claimed to be a permanent trustee of the Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust. In the complaint, Prashant alleged that after taking over the trust's administration following a Supreme Court order dated September 18, 2023, eight copper pots were discovered beneath the floor of his cabin on September 21, 2024.
The pots contained human remains, rice, hair, ash and other materials suspected to be associated with black magic rituals, he alleged. In the complaint, he accused former management members, including Niket Mehta and six others, of performing occult practices to gain supernatural blessings and harm the trustees.
But the Sessions Court identified several shortcomings in the complaint and in the evidence that was presented. The court observed that there was no clear explanation of who buried the pots, when they were buried or what specific role each accused allegedly played.
The court also underlined the absence of forensic evidence that could establish whether the recovered bones were human remains or whether the hair and other materials were linked to any unlawful activity.
What is also important is that the judge remarked that burying ritual pots containing rice, sacred water, coins or other materials can form part of customary Hindu practices associated with Vastu and religious ceremonies.
The court asserted that such practices cannot automatically be treated as criminal acts without evidence of prohibited conduct or an intention to cause harm, deception or fear.
Concluding that the magistrate's summoning order was legally unsustainable and lacked sufficient grounds, the Sessions Court allowed the revision application and quashed the summons against Niket Mehta.
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