Bombay HC judge recuses herself from bail plea, says was ‘influenced’

Mumbai: A judge of the Bombay high court on Tuesday recused herself from hearing a bail application filed by an accused in a multi-crore ephedrine drug haul case, saying that his relatives had tried to ‘influence’ her.

The bail application of Manoj Jain, an accused in the drug haul case in which a former Bollywood star Mamta Kulkarni and her partner Vicky Goswami have been declared as absconders, today came up before Justice Revati Mohite Dere. However, the judge said “not before me”, special public prosecutor Shishir Hiray, who appeared for the Thane Crime Branch said.

The judge said that Jain’s relatives had tried to meet her and influence her. She asked the court staff to put the matter before the high court registry so that it can be assigned to another judge, Hiray said. Jain is the owner of Solapur-based Avon Life Sciences Ltd, from where Thane police had seized ephedrine worth hundreds of crores. Though a medication, ephedrine is also used to make narcotic drugs

The police had suspected that the drug was being diverted out of the country through a cartel controlled by Goswami and others.