Malvani hooch tragedy: Sessions court denies interim bail to five accused, says 106 lives lost

Mumbai: A sessions court on Tuesday rejected the temporary bail pleas of five accused in the Malvani hooch tragedy case of 2015 considering the severity of the offence and that 106 persons had lost their lives and another 75 had become permanently disabled after consuming illicit liquor.

The five - chemical trader from Vapi Kishor Patel, servers Geeta alias Simran Sayyad, Agnes alias Wilson Greases, Mamta Laxman and dealer Gurubhai Patel had sought the relief on the grounds of the High Power Committee’s guidelines for release of prisoners for decongestion of prisons.

Additional Sessions Judge MM Umar noted that the nature and severity of the offence are to be considered while considering prisoners for relief under the guidelines as well as the possibility of their repeating the offence while on bail or of absconding. “It is pertinent to mention here that in the alleged incident 106 persons expired and about 75 persons became permanently disabled/handicapped,” the court said. It added that 172 witnesses have already been examined by the prosecution in the case and only some remain to be examined.

Rejecting the plea of Kishor Patel, the court said he has permanent residence in Gujarat and there is possibility he may abscond and flee from justice if released on bail. The court gave similar reasoning while denying interim relief to other co-accused too.

Residents of slums in Laxmi Nagar near Gamdevi Jurassic Park of Malvani developed respiratory problems, nausea and diarrhoea on consuming the illicit liquor in mid-June 2015. 14 accused had been charged with murder, attempt to murder, causing hurt by poison and criminal conspiracy among other sections of the Indian Penal Code by the crime branch.

In June last year the court had denied interim bail to three accused in the case who had also sought the relief on the grounds of the pandemic.