The Supreme Court on Wednesday “confirmed” its earlier order staying the premature release of gangster-turned-politician Arun Gawli, who is serving life imprisonment in a murder case.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Dipankar Dattamade upheld its June 3 order, which stayed the operation of the April 5 order from the Bombay High Court’s Nagpur bench, and scheduled the appeals for hearing on November 20.
The high court had directed state authorities to consider Arun Gawli’s application for premature release under the 2006 remission policy.
“We are not inclined to grant any interim relief. The interim stay granted by us is confirmed. Post the appeals for hearing on November 20,” the bench said.
At the outset, senior advocate Raja Thakare, representing the Maharashtra government, noted that Gawli has over 46 cases against him, including around 10 cases of murder. The apex court then inquired whether Gawli had made any progress in the last five to eight years. Thakare responded that the gangster has been behind bars for over 17 years.
The bench further asked if Gawli had been reformed. “How will society know that when he is behind bars? He is 72 years old,” it said.
Challenging the high court’s order, Thakare argued that the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) requires convicts to undergo imprisonment for at least 40 years for remission, as per the 2015 policy.
Senior advocate Nitya Ramakrishnan, representing Gawli, contended that other co-accused had been granted bail and that the Bombay High Court was correct in granting premature release. She argued that the 2006 policy, applicable at the time of Gawli’s conviction, allows for remission due to age and infirmity, rather than the later 2015 policy.
At this point, the bench observed, “But madam, you should know that not everybody is Arun Gawli. In the movie Sholay, there is an iconic dialogue, ‘So ja beta, nahi toh Gabbar aa jayega.’ This can be a case here.”
Addressing Gawli’s health condition, Ramakrishnan informed the court that he suffers from heart disease and a lung defect. Counsel for the Maharashtra government attributed these conditions to Gawli’s long history of smoking. Ramakrishnan countered that Gawli’s smoking history was irrelevant to his current status and argued that the advisory board had certified his infirmity, making the 2006 policy applicable.
On June 3, the Supreme Court stayed the operation of the April 5 order from the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court. The high court had allowed Gawli’s plea for a direction to the state government for his premature release under the 2006 remission policy, which was in effect on the date of his conviction on August 31, 2012.
Gawli, serving life imprisonment for the 2007 murder of Mumbai Shiv Sena corporator Kamlakar Jamsandekar, argues that he has met all the conditions of the 2006 policy. He contends that his advanced age and certification of infirmity by the medical board make him eligible for the remission policy.
Gawli, who gained prominence from Dagdi Chawl, a neighborhood in Byculla, is the founder of the Akhil Bharatiya Sena. He served as an MLA from 2004 to 2009 from the Chinchpokli seat in Mumbai. Arrested in 2006 and tried for Jamsandekar’s murder, Gawli was sentenced to life imprisonment in August 2012 by a sessions court in Mumbai and fined Rs 17 lakh.
