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Dawood link case: HC grants bail to gutkha baron
Former gutkha baron Jagdishprasad Mohanlal Joshi, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for helping Dawood Ibrahim set up a gutkha manufacturing unit in Karachi, has been granted bail by the Bombay high court. The bail was granted after the Supreme Court directed the HC to decide his plea for suspension of his sentence and grant of bail. Joshi is now released on a personal bond of ?1 lakh.
MUMBAI: Former gutkha baron Jagdishprasad Mohanlal Joshi, 67, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison by a special MCOCA (Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act) court for helping fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar set up a gutkha manufacturing unit in Karachi, was granted bail by the Bombay high court on Monday.
The bail was granted after the Supreme Court which had granted Joshi interim bail in February 2023 had directed the HC to decide his plea for suspension of his sentence and grant of bail. The single judge bench of justice Bharati Dangre, which had heard the appeal on Monday, suspended the sentence and directed Joshi be released on a personal bond of ₹1 lakh.
According to the case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), a total of nine accused in the case which included, Dawood Ibrahim, his brother Anees Ibrahim Kaskar and brother-in-law Abdul Antulay, apart from Joshi, Rasiklal Manikchand Dhariwal of Manikchand Gutkha and Rajesh Panchariya.
As per the prosecution case, there was a monetary dispute between Joshi and co-accused Dhariwal, and the two had sought the help of Dawood Ibrahim to resolve the dispute and eventually ended up helping the gang set up gutkha manufacturing units in Karachi.
After the trial commenced, Dhariwal died and hence the case against him had abated and Panchariya was discharged. On January 9 this year, the special MCOCA court had held that Joshi, Jamiruddin Ansari and 1993 blast accused Farukh Mansouri were guilty of criminal conspiracy and had sentenced the trio to 10 years imprisonment. All three had then filed appeals in the HC against the sentence.
As the HC had directed that the appeals filed by the three and the appeal filed by CBI against the discharge of Panchariya were connected matters, it should be heard by a single bench after which Joshi had moved the SC, seeking urgent reliefs due to his age and health issues.
“Considering overall facts and circumstances of the case and in particular, the age of the appellant (Joshi) and various serious ailments from which he is suffering, we deem it fit to direct that the appellant shall be released on interim bail forthwith,” the division bench of the apex court of justice Krishna Murari and justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah had noted in its February 2023 order.
While arguing the appeal in HC, senior advocate Aabad Ponda and advocate Subhash Jadhav had submitted that the special court had erred in finding him to be complicit in the setting up of the gutkha manufacturing unit in Karachi.
“Joshi never had any pecuniary gain or benefit as a result of any kind of alleged continuing unlawful activity in order to attract the stringent provisions of the MCOCA, and on the contrary is a clear victim of circumstances of constant threats by underworld gang members,” the bench was informed.