The Gujarat High Court has rejected the regular bail application of police constable Virendrasinh Padheriya, accused of murdering 23-year-old MICA student Priyanshu Jain in Ahmedabad’s Bopal area on November 10, 2024. The court also imposed a cost of ₹5,000 on the applicant.
The bench noted that Padheriya had withdrawn an earlier bail plea on July 9, 2025, after the court indicated it was not inclined to grant relief. Filing a fresh, successive application, the court observed, appeared to be an attempt to secure a detailed order for the purpose of challenging it before the Supreme Court.
“If the applicant intended to approach the apex court, nothing prevented him from seeking reasons when the previous application was withdrawn,” the court remarked, terming the new plea a misuse of process.
Dismissing the defence claim of a sudden scuffle, the court held that prima facie evidence showed Padheriya had chased Priyanshu Jain after being reprimanded for rash driving, intercepted his two-wheeler, and deliberately stabbed him in a vital part of the body. The knife used in the attack was recovered from the accused, with FSL reports confirming the presence of the victim’s blood group.
Padheriya was booked for murder in what police described as a fatal road-rage incident. According to the FIR filed at Bopal Police Station, Jain and an eyewitness were waiting at a junction when the constable, driving a private car, allegedly approached in a rash manner. After Jain objected, the accused took a U-turn, pursued the two-wheeler, intercepted it, and confronted the pair. A verbal exchange escalated into a physical fight, during which Padheriya allegedly stabbed Jain, causing his death.
The eyewitness later identified the accused during a Test Identification Parade.