Court stays open warrant issued against ‘gangster’ Kumar Pillai

Pillai’s lawyer sought a stay on the open warrant issued against him till then. The court then stayed the warrant till the next date, February 23.

The special court on February 13 ordered the Commissioner of Mumbai Police to take necessary steps to repatriate him to Hong Kong.

Pillai had filed another plea before a sessions court seeking that an open warrant issued against him on January 19 be stayed.

Pillai had told court that since the warrant was sought in a case which was not part of the cases given to Singapore authorities for his extradition, a warrant cannot be issued against him.

The court had heard arguments on the plea by the police and Pillai. Before the order was pronounced, however, another court ordered his repatriation.
Pillai’s lawyer then again submitted to the court that with the repatriation order, the warrant should be stayed or cancelled.

The court will hear the Mumbai police on Monday on the clarification it has received about Pillai’s repatriation status.

The open warrant was issued in a case related to the murder of a man in 2007, in which two persons, alleged to be Pillai’s associates, were acquitted by the court in 2017. The police had told court that to make Pillai face trial in the case, a proposal is required to be made before the authorities in Singapore, and hence an open warrant is needed. The court had said that the chargesheet of the case shows that Pillai is named as an absconding accused and he was not arrested in the crime, issuing the warrant.

While the Indian authorities had sought permission to try Pillai in six pending cases, permission was granted for three, which he faced trial for and was acquitted in between 2021-2024.