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The Supreme Court on Thursday granted bail to gangster-turned-politician Arun Gawli in the 2007 murder case of Mumbai Shiv Sena corporator Kamlakar-Jamsandekar.
Gawli, 76, had been booked under the provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, 1999 MCOCA. While granting him bail, a bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and N. Kotiswar Singh considered Gawli's advanced age and the fact that his appeal seeking bail had been pending before the top court for 17 years and three months. The bench posted the matter for final hearing in February 2026. Earlier, in June 2024, the top court had stayed the Bombay High Court's decision granting premature release to Gawli. Following this, the top court extended its stay order on Gawli's premature release. Gawli, in his plea, claimed that the state authorities' rejection of his application for premature release was unjust, arbitrary, and liable to be set aside. The Maharashtra government opposed his plea before the High Court for premature release. The High Court had rejected the State government's contentions and gave 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 stating that they had challenged the verdict by moving the top court. The High Court then gave the government four more weeks to implement the April 5 order for the premature release of Gawli and made it clear that no further extensions would be granted. Gawli was arrested and underwent a trial in 2006 for the murder of Jamsandekar. In August 2012, the Sessions Court in Mumbai sentenced him to life imprisonment in the murder case. Arun Gawli was a gangster of Dagdi Chawl in Byculla, Mumbai, and later founded Akhil Bharatiya Sena. He served as an MLA from 2004 to 2009 in the Chinchpokli seat of Mumbai. (ANI)
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