Gulshan Kumar murder case: HC upholds acquittal of producer Ramesh Taurani, confirms conviction of one accused

A division bench of Justices S S Jadhav and N R Borkar also quashed the acquittal of another accused in the case, Abdul Rashid Merchant

Twenty-four years after ‘Cassette King’ Gulshan Kumar was gunned down, the Bombay High Court on Thursday upheld the conviction of prime accused Abdul Rauf Merchant and maintained the acquittal of music label owner Ramesh Taurani.

Gulshan Kumar Dua, son of a fruit juice vendor, was the founder of Super Cassettes Industries Ltd and creator of the T-Series music label.

Taurani, On the other hand, was the founder of Tips Industries Ltd, the music label and film production company.

Kumar (41) was gunned down on August 12, 1997 when assailants pumped in 16 bullets outside the Jeeteshwar Mahadev Mandir at Jeet Nagar in Andheri West.

A division bench of Bombay High Court comprising Justice Sadhana Jadhav and Justice N R Borkar maintained the acquittal of Taurani and dismissed an appeal of the Maharashtra government.

The court confirmed the conviction of Abdul Rauf Merchant alias Dawood Merchant, who was associated with the gang of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.

The bench also quashed the acquittal of another accused in the case and Rauf’s brother Abdul Rashid Merchant and convicted him to life imprisonment.

Rashid has been asked to surrender and if he fails, a non-bailable warrant can be issued against him.

The Mumbai Sessions Court on April 29, 2002, had acquitted 18 of the 19 accused.

The trial court convicted Rauf under Sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 120(b) (criminal conspiracy), 392 (robbery) and 397 (causing grievous hurt in robbery) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 27 (possession of arms) of the Indian Arms Act.

Music composer Nadeem Akhtar Saifee of Nadeem-Shravan fame was also a 'wanted' accused in the case but the Indian government’s attempt to extradite him from the United Kingdom failed in the British court.

Rauf subsequently appealed against the conviction, while the state government filed an appeal against the acquittal of Taurani. On Thursday, the high court dismissed the state government's appeal and upheld the acquittal of Taurani. The bench, however, upheld the conviction of Rauf and also the life sentence imposed on him, but quashed and set aside his conviction under sections 392 and 397.

"The acquittal of another accused Abdul Rashid Merchant is quashed. Rashid is convicted under sections 302, 120(b) of the IPC and section 27 of the Indian Arms Act. The accused is sentenced to life imprisonment. He is directed to surrender forthwith to the trial court or the D N Nagar police station," the high court said in its order. The bench also said Abdul Rauf Merchant would not be entitled to remission, considering his conduct during the trial.

"The appellant (Rauf) shall not be entitled to remission considering his criminal antecedents and in the interest of justice and public at large, he is not entitled to any leniency,” the court said. The court noted that after the killing, Rauf had absconded and was arrested only in 2001. "In 2009, he (Rauf) was granted furlough, but he did not surrender and had to be arrested in 2016 again,” the bench said. The court said if Rashid fails to surrender, then the sessions court can issue a non-bailable warrant.