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Journalism of Courage
A Bombay High Court judge has withdrawn midway through one of the cases connected to India’s largest forgery scandal after he was ‘‘approached’’ on behalf of a prime accused for a ‘‘favour.’’
This follows threats received earlier this month by Raja Thakre, counsel for the Central Bureau of Investigation, in cases related to the prosecution of alleged forger Abdul Karim Telgi, who investigators say masterminded a nationwide fake-stamp operation worth more than Rs 22,000 crore.
The judge, Justice Dilip B Bhosale, was hearing the bail applications of several accused in the case, including top police officers.
The bail application of Pradeep Sawant—an IIT graduate who was chief of Mumbai’s crime branch before his arrest—was to come up on August 12. But lawyers discovered that it was not on the board of Justice Bhosale’s court on that day. Justice Bhosale had resigned after having heard the matter over two days the previous week. Highly reliable sources told The Indian Express that the reason for the judge withdrawing was that he had been contacted by some individuals ‘‘requesting’’ a favour for the applicant. Justice Bhosale was extremely upset by the incident, sources said.
