Petition questions Bombay HC hearing appeals of celebrities out-of-turn

A convict has alleged that appeals of celebrities were being heard out-of-turn while that of others like him were pending endlessly, following which the Bombay High Court on Monday directed its Registry to file a report on July 24 on how many such appeals were waiting for final hearing.

The order was given by a bench headed by Chief Justice Mohit Shah which was hearing a petition objecting to appeals of celebrities, including film actors Shiney Ahuja and Salman Khan, against their conviction being heard expeditiously.

Shashikala Bhagwan Gangurde filed the petition on behalf of her incarcerated husband and many other convicts who eagerly wait in jails for many years to get bail and struggle to ensure that their appeals are listed for final hearing.

The petitioner cited the case of Shiney who was convicted in March 2011 on charges of raping his maid, saying his appeal has been listed already for final hearing.

It also referred to the case of Salman who was recently sentenced to five-year jail term in a hit-and-run case in which one person was killed and four others were injured. The petition alleged that Salman's appeal too has been listed out-of-turn for final hearing.

The petitioner's counsel, Aparna Vatkar, argued it was discriminatory on the part of respondents -- The Registrar General (Judicial) of High Court and Maharashtra government -- in placing all matters of celebrities and high-profile personalities for final hearing on an urgent basis, in spite of being filed much later.

The petition asked whether the respondents were justified in placing of appeals of celebrities for final hearing on out-of-turn basis while ignoring poor persons who are still languishing behind bars.

It also wondered whether the authorities were justified in having "discriminatory" attitude while functioning in the temple of justice.

The petitioner submitted that her husband was convicted in a murder case in 2009 and he had urged for bail, but the plea was rejected. The high court had directed the Registry to place his appeal for final hearing in October 2009, but till date it has not come up for hearing.

It also cited another case of a young boy who was in love with a girl whom he later married. On a complaint filed by his mother-in-law, the 27-year-old boy was convicted on rape charge and his appeal is still pending.

There are many others like him who eagerly wait for their appeals to be listed for final hearing in high court, said the petition.