Arun Gawli, the gangster-turned-politician, has been granted bail by the Supreme Court concerning the 2007 murder of Kamlakar Jamsandekar, a Shiv Sena corporator. Gawli, 76, had been charged under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, 1999 (MCOCA). The bail was granted by Justices M.M. Sunderesh and N. Kotishwar Singh, acknowledging that the case had been pending before the court for over seventeen years. The final hearing is scheduled for February 2026. Earlier, in June 2024, the Supreme Court had intervened to stay a Bombay High Court decision that would have allowed Gawli’s premature release. Subsequently, the court extended this stay. Gawli had contested the state authorities’ rejection of his premature release application, claiming it was unjust. The Maharashtra government opposed his plea for premature release before the High Court. While the High Court initially dismissed the government’s arguments and ordered authorities to issue a consequential order within four weeks, the state government later sought a four-month extension to implement the order, citing their intention to challenge the verdict in the Supreme Court. The High Court then granted the government an additional four weeks, with a clear warning against further extensions. Gawli was arrested and tried in 2006 for the murder of Jamsandekar, and was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Mumbai Sessions Court in August 2012.
