The Bombay High Court on Thursday upheld the life imprisonment awarded to Abdul Rauf Merchant, an aide of gangster Dawood Ibrahim, by a lower court for the sensational murder of music baron and T-Series owner Gulshan Kumar, while it dismissed an appeal challenging the acquittal of TIPS company co-founder Ramesh Taurani in the same case.
Allowing partly the appeal challenging Rauf Merchant’s appeal, a HC division bench comprising Justices Sadhana Jadhav and N. R. Borkar said that Merchant was convicted for offences committed under section 302 (murder) read with section 34 and 120 B (conspiracy) of the IPC and section 27 of the Indian Arms Act, while he was acquitted of the offences punishable under 307 (attempt to murder), 397 and 398 (robbery or dacoity with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt).
Holding that he was entitled to the set off for the period already undergone during the pendency of the trial, the HC bench ordered the cancelled Rauf Merchant’s bail bonds.
The judges ordered Rauf Merchant to surrender forthwith before the Sessions Court or before D.N. Nagar Police Station and also surrender his passport to the police. They said that if he did not surrender within a week, the sessions court would issue a non-bailable warrant against him and take him into custody.
Apart from confirming the conviction of Rauf Merchant for Gulhshan Kumar's murder, the HC confirmed punishment for offence under section 120 B (conspiracy) of the IPC. “The assailants had no personal animosity or grudge against the deceased Gulshan Kumar. They had committed the ghastly act as they were hired by Nadeem Saifee and Abu Salem who wanted to satisfy their personal vendetta against the deceased. Unwarranted acquittals would not only give wrong signals to the society but would pose a threat to law and order.
Therefore, the Accused no 16/ Respondent No. 2 (Rauf Merchant) also deserves to be convicted for the offence punishable under section 120B of the IPC,” the HC bench observed in its ruling.
In the case of Ramesh Turani, the HC bench ruled: “The Appeal challenging the acquittal of the Respondent No.1 Ramesh Sadhuram Taurani vide Judgment and Order dated April 29, 2002 by the Additional Sessions Judge, Gr. Mumbai in Sessions is hereby dismissed”.
Holding that the acquittal of Taurani in the lower court called for no interference, the HC bench observed: “In the present case, there are serious lapses in the investigation and there is no cogent and convincing evidence to hold that Respondent No. 1 (Taurani) had spoken to Abu Salem in Dubai. There is no investigation to verify as to whether that phone number was used by Abu Salem at that time. Abu Salem was an absconding Accused since 1993 serial bomb blast. The HC bench noted that “The only witness who has deposed about the involvement of Taurani was prosecution witness Arif Lakadawala. The evidence of Ladkdawala would show that he was also present when Respondent No. 1 had contacted Abu Salem when they met at Juhu. The application seeking arraignment of Lakdawala as an accused had been rejected with the aid of section 132 of the Indian Evidence Act. The said order of rejection was not challenged and has attained finality.
In view of this, the acquittal of the Taurani calls for no interference”.
It may be recalled that Gulshan Kumar was murdered on August 12, 1997 in front of a Shiv temple located at Juhu’s Jeet Nagar locality in north-west Mumbai.
The Prosecution’s case was that Taurani, director of Tips Cassettes, had allegedly paid Rs.25 lakh to music composer Nadeem Akhtar Saifee of the famed music director duo Nadeem-Sharavan. Nadeem had in turn passed on the supari money to the then Dubai-based gangster Salem for executing the murder.
Nadeem, whom the Prosecution had described as an absconding accused after he refused to return from London (where he was at the time of Kumar’s murder), was subsequently discharged by a UK court of extradition proceedings launched against him by the Indian Government. Nadeem has not since not returned to India.
After battling with a Covid-19 infection and comorbidity-related complications, Shravan Kumar Rathod of the Nadeem-Shravan duo died at a hospital here on April 22,2021.