On Thursday, the Supreme Court granted bail to gangster-turned-politician Arun Gawli, who is serving a life sentence in connection with a 2007 murder case, citing his prolonged period of imprisonment.
Gawli is currently serving life imprisonment for the killing of Mumbai Shiv Sena corporator Kamlakar Jamsandekar. A bench comprising Justice M M Sundresh and Justice N Kotiswar Singh observed that Gawli has been incarcerated for over 17 years, with his appeal still pending before the apex court.
"Admittedly, the appellant has been under incarceration for 17 years and three months. We also take note of the fact that he is 76 years old," the bench noted while granting bail. The Court imposed that the bail would be subject to the conditions stipulated by the Trial Court and posted the matter for final hearing in February 2026.
The bail plea comes against the backdrop of Gawli’s challenge to the December 9, 2019 verdict of the Bombay High Court, which had upheld the life sentence awarded by the trial court. Gawli, who rose to prominence from Dagdi Chawl in Byculla, is the founder of the Akhil Bharatiya Sena and served as an MLA from 2004 to 2009 representing Mumbai’s Chinchpokli constituency.
Gawli and his associates were arrested in 2006 for the murder of Jamsandekar. In August 2012, a Mumbai sessions court sentenced him to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 17 lakh.
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