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Syed Firdaus Ashraf in Mumbai
Former sessions court judge J W Singh, who was on Tuesday acquitted of charges of maintaining links with the underworld, said he was victimised by the Mumbai police.
"It's police raj...Mumbai police deliberately applied draconian laws against me," he told reporters as he stepped out of Judge A M Thipsay's special court after the acquittal.
"I have been a judge for the last 20 years and have had a blemishless career. But this false case against me [has] ruined my life," Singh said.
Singh was arrested after the Mumbai police tapped, what they said, were his conversations with Karachi-based underworld don Chhota Shakeel.
The case against Singh was that he had sought Shakeel's services to recover Rs 4 million invested in a chit fund and in return had offered to deal leniently with the members of the don's gang.
The chit fund business was run by Sardar Singh Arol alias Dara, who also runs a hotel in Sion in central Mumbai.
Singh was arrested under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act and the tapes of his alleged conversations with Shakeel were produced in the court as evidence.
Judge Thipsay, however, felt that the recorded conversations were not admissible as evidence under the Indian Telegraph Act and MCOCA.
He also dismissed charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act against Singh for want of evidence.
Singh's case had received a major boost when one of the prosecution's star witnesses and his stenographer, Samata Sarnobat, did not recognise his voice in the taped conversations.
Now, after having won the legal battle, Singh has not yet decided if would file a counter-case against the Mumbai police. "I will think about that after reading the complete text of the judgement," Singh said.
As for the prosecution, Public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said he would recommend to the Maharashtra government to appeal against the judgement in a higher court.
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