SC extends stay on premature release of gangster Arun Gawli in murder case

New Delhi [India], July 31 : The Supreme Court on Wednesday extended its earlier order, staying the premature release of gangster-turned-politician Arun Gawli, serving life imprisonment in a murder case.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Dipankar Datta made its June 3 order absolute, staying the operation of the April 5 order of the Bombay High Court's Nagpur Bench.
The High Court had directed state authorities to consider Gawli's application for premature release under the 2006 remission policy.
The apex court refused an urgent hearing of Gawli's parole application, saying convicts undergoing life imprisonment have a right to premature release but society also has a right to live peacefully.
The bench said that it is conscious of the rights of prisoners and has granted indulgence in the past.
"We would not have inclined to grant you any interim relief. The interim stay granted by us is confirmed. As your matter requires in-depth consideration, we would like to decide the appeal itself. We cannot be unfair to you and we cannot be unfair to the state as well. Post the appeals for hearing on November 20," said the bench.
Senior advocate Nitya Ramakrishnan, appearing for Gawli, told the bench that her client is 72 and has been released 15 times on parole. He suffered from a severe breathing disorder, she added.
"For a moment, keep aside Gawli. Let this court not be driven by this case. There is a 2006 remission policy that provides relief to prisoners aged over 65 who have completed 14 years of imprisonment."
The bench then observed, "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'."
Senior advocate Raja Thakare, appearing for the Maharashtra government, told the bench that Gawli has over 46 cases, including around 10 cases of murder, against him.
The Maharashtra government had moved the apex court seeking stay on the April 5 order of the High Court.
The Nagpur bench of the High Court had allowed the plea of Gawli, where he had sought direction to the government for his premature release on account of the remission policy of January 10, 2006, which was prevailing on the date of his conviction on August 31, 2012.
Gawli, who is undergoing life imprisonment for the 2006 murder case of Mumbai Shiv Sena corporator Kamlakar Jamsandekar under the provisions of MCOCA, has claimed to have complied with all the conditions of the 2006 policy.
The rejection of his application for premature release by the state authorities is unjust, arbitrary and liable to be set aside, Gawli said.
The Maharashtra government has opposed his plea before the High Court for premature release, stating that the revised guidelines of March 18, 2010, for premature release contemplate that there shall be no premature release of a convict of organised crime unless he undergoes 40 years of actual imprisonment.
The High Court had rejected the state government's contentions and given authorities four weeks to pass a consequential order in that regard.
However, on May 9, the state government again moved the High Court, seeking four months to implement the April 5 order, saying they had challenged the verdict in the top court.
The High Court then gave the government four more weeks for the implementation of the April 5 order of premature release of Gawli and made it clear that no more extensions would be granted.
He was arrested and underwent a trial in 2006 for the murder of Jamsandekar. In August 2012, a sessions court in Mumbai had sentenced him to life imprisonment in the murder case.
Gawli was a gangster of Dagdi Chawl in Byculla and later founded Akhil Bharatiya Sena and served MLA from 2004-09 from Chinchpokli seat of Mumbai.