HC stays order against gutka king Dhariwal

The Bombay high court on Wednesday granted an interim stay on a lower court's order seeking to make gutka baron Rasiklal Manikchand Dhariwal an accused in the case over his alleged nexus with underworld.  

Hearing Dhariwal's plea, a bench headed by Justice S S Parkar referred the matter to a larger bench and in the meantime granted a stay on the lower court's order.  

Designated judge A P Bhangale, on July 27, had held that there was 'prima facie' evidence that Dhariwal and another gutka baron Jagdish Joshi had links with underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. The special court had also issued notices to Dhariwal and Joshi asking them why they should not be named as accused for allegedly helping Dawood in the gutka business.  

Later Dhariwal filed a petition in the Bombay high court urging for the quashing of the lower court's order and seeking an interim stay in the meantime.  

The Central Bureau of Investigation had alleged before a special court that Joshi and Dhariwal, owners of Goa Gutka and Manikchand Gutka respectively, had allegedly helped Dawood Ibrahim in setting up a gutka business in Pakistan. According to the CBI, the co-accused had disclosed during interrogation that they had sent gutka pouch-making machines to Pakistan via Dubai for the purpose.  

As Dhariwal and Joshi were in Dubai, the court issued non-bailable warrants against them asking them to appear in the case. The duo returned to India saying that they stayed in Dubai to maintain their non-resident status and later appeared before the CBI on several occasions for questioning.