HC reduces Arun Gawli’s life term, asks state to release him from jail
NAGPUR: Former underworld don Arun Gawli, 69, is set to be released prematurely from Nagpur central jail following a directive from the Nagpur bench of the Bombay high court to the state government. On Friday, a division bench of the court accepted Gawli’s petition seeking premature release under provisions of a 2006 government notification, which sanctions authority to the state government to release prisoners aged 65 years or above.
Known as ‘Daddy’ among his supporters, Gawli was active in Mumbai’s underworld from the 1970s to the 1990s, often engaged in bloody wars with the absconding mafia don Dawood Ibrahim’s gang. He also founded a political party, the Akhil Bharatiya Sena, in 1997 and was elected to the legislative assembly in 2004.
In 2012, Gawli was convicted with 11 of his accomplices for the murder of Shiv Sena leader and corporator Kamlakar Jamsandekar. The special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court sentenced him to life imprisonment, which he is currently serving at the Nagpur Central Prison.
Gawli approached the high court challenging the rejection of his claim for early release as per provisions of a government notification dated January 10, 2006, which says that under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CRPC), the state has the authority to release a prisoner after he/ she completes 14 years of a life imprisonment sentence and/or if he or she reaches the age of 65 and above.
Through his counsel Mir Nagman Ali, Gawli informed the court that his plea for early release under the 2006 notification was rejected by the jail authorities, citing a 2015 notification that excluded convicts under the MCOCA Act from its benefits. Gawli’s counsel argued against this exclusion, stating his 2012 conviction shouldn’t be affected by the 2015 rule. Justices Vinay Joshi and Vrushali Joshi ruled in Gawli’s favor, asserting his entitlement to benefits under the 2006 notification. The government was directed to decide on his release within four weeks.