Mumbai: Reiterating that no person in the family can help an ailing wife as her husband would, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court last week ordered Maharashtra jail authorities to grant parole to gangster Arun Gawli, whose wife is expected to undergo a surgery.
A division bench of Justices Zaka Haq and Amit Borkar noted that Gawli's wife has to undergo a surgery for a chronic illness. The bench while referring to the observations made by another bench of the HC in February 2020 granting him parole, reiterated, "No person in the family can extend a support or help to ailing wife as her husband would and in such a case, the husband himself would like to see his wife or otherwise his anxiety will affect his well being adversely."
"Taking into consideration the nature of serious illness i.e. Chronic Suppurative Otitis Media (CSOM) to left ear, we are satisfied that he deserves to be released on parole," the bench held.
Mumbai police in a report had objected to Gawli being granted parole. It had stated that Gawli need not be released as his son and daughter are already there to look after the wife.
The bench while noting the report submitted by the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Agripada against Gawli's release, took into account the fact that the gangster has always surrendered before the jail authorities, whenever he is released on parole or furlough.
"The records show that on each occasion whenever he (Gawli) was released on either furlough or parole leave, he had surrendered himself on due date before the Prison Authorities," the judges said in their order.
"The authorities have not pointed out that he had made any act to endanger life of any person, nor is it pointed out that he has misused the parole or furlough leave granted to him in th past," the bench added.
Notably, since 2015 when he was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Shiv Sena leader Kamlakar Jamsandekar, Gawli has been out on either parole or furlough nine times.
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