Anant Garje, former PA to Maharashtra minister Pankaja Munde, has sought bail, claiming the FIR was filed after his wife’s death due to emotional distress and does not establish abetment.
Garje’s plea says he surrendered voluntarily, cooperated with the Special Investigation Team, and that no medical or documentary evidence links him to cruelty or harassment.
The case stems from a complaint by the deceased’s father, alleging sustained physical and mental harassment and threats following the discovery of an alleged extramarital affair.
Anant Garje, former personal assistant to Maharashtra minister Pankaja Munde, has moved a court seeking bail in a case related to the alleged abetment of his wife’s suicide, asserting that the first information report (FIR) was lodged as an “afterthought” following emotional distress and that no prior complaints had been made against him.
Garje was arrested in November last year after the death of his wife, Dr Gauri Palve, on November 22, 2025. In his bail application, Garje said he had voluntarily surrendered, cooperated with the investigation, and that his continued custody was not required.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) was constituted to probe allegations of abetment of suicide against Garje, his sister and his brother-in-law. The case was registered on the basis of a complaint filed by Palve’s father after her death, alleging that she had been subjected to continuous physical and mental harassment by her husband over household issues.
In his plea, Garje contended that the FIR did not attribute any act of instigation, threat or provocation to him that could have led to the suicide. “The applicant is absolutely innocent and has been falsely implicated. The FIR does not disclose any direct, specific or proximate act of abetment or cruelty attributable to the applicant,” the bail application stated.
The plea further claimed that there was no material evidence to support allegations of cruelty. “Not a single medical report, complaint or witness statement connects the applicant with any physical assault or cruelty,” it said, adding that neither the deceased nor her parents had lodged any complaint prior to the incident. The FIR, the plea argued, was a result of emotional distress following the death.
Garje also informed the court that he surrendered two days after the FIR was registered and had cooperated fully with the investigation. He cited the fact that two of his relatives named in the case had already been granted anticipatory bail.
Dr. Palve, 28, was a trained dentist and was working as a dental surgeon at Sion Hospital in Mumbai. She married Garje on February 7, 2025, and the couple lived in a rented apartment in Worli. According to the FIR, Palve was allegedly subjected to physical and mental harassment soon after the marriage and had informed her parents about it.
The complaint further alleged that Palve had discovered Garje’s relationship with another woman and that when she confronted him, he threatened to die by suicide and implicate her in a suicide note if she disclosed the matter to her parents
