Mane, of Kharawade village in Mulshi, was initially tried for murder which was later converted to culpable homicide not amounting to murder. According to additional public prosecutor Sadanand Deshmukh, Pandurang's younger brother Shankar Jagannath Mane, 32, who was working in Pune, came home in July 1998 for a family function. A fight erupted between the brothers over chicken not being a part of the meal.

In a fit of anger, Pandurang hit Shankar with a knife that pierced his heart causing instantaneous death. The judge examined four witnesses.