NAGPUR: The Nagpur bench of
Bombay HC
on Friday directed early release of underworld don-turned-politician
Arun Gawli
, who is serving life imprisonment at the
Nagpur Central Jail
.
A division bench comprising Justices Vinay Joshi and Vrushali Joshi allowed Gawli’s criminal petition challenging rejection of his claim for
premature release
in view of a January 10, 2006 govt notification.
Govt has been directed to decide on his release within four weeks.
Gawli and 11 others were sentenced to life imprisonment by a sessions court in Mumbai on August 3, 2012, for the murder of former Shiv Sena corporator Kamlakar Jamsandekar. A Special
MCOCA
(Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act) court, while pronouncing the judgment, awarded rigorous life imprisonment and imposed Rs 17 lakh fine on him.
The application preferred by Gawli through counsel Mir Nagman Ali was rejected by the respondents, including jail authorities, contending that the govt had issued a fresh notification on December 1, 2015, which excluded MCOCA convicts from the January 2006 policy. The January 2006 policy allowed any inmate completing 65 years of age and having spent 14 years behind bars to avail its benefits.
Gawli’s counsel argued that the petitioner would be entitled to benefit of 2006 notification in view of the fact that he was convicted in 2011.
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