The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the order of remission granted by the Bombay High Court to gangster-turned-politician Arun Gawli, who is currently serving life imprisonment for the 2007 murder of Shiv Sena corporator Kamlakar Jamsandekar.

Previously, the Bombay High Court had ruled that Gawli was entitled to the benefits of the 2006 remission policy by the Maharashtra government and directed the authorities to pass a consequential order for his release.

A vacation bench comprising Justices Aravind Kumar and Sandeep Mehta heard the state government's plea against Gawli's premature release. Gawli, convicted under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), had been granted premature release by the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court on April 5, based on the 2006 remission policy which was in effect at the time of his conviction on August 31, 2012.

Gawli, now 65, argued that he met all the conditions of the 2006 policy and that the state's rejection of his application for premature release was unjust and arbitrary. He also claimed to have been certified as weak by the Medical Board, qualifying him for the remission benefits.

However, the state government opposed Gawli's plea, citing revised guidelines from March 18, 2010, which state that convicts of organized crime should not be granted premature release unless they have served 40 years of actual imprisonment. The Bombay High Court dismissed the state's argument as "totally misconceived," asserting that the 2010 guidelines were general and did not apply to the specific provisions of the 2006 policy, which catered to prisoners of advanced age and physical weakness.

The High Court concluded that Gawli was indeed entitled to the 2006 remission policy benefits, as it was the prevailing policy at the time of his conviction. The court emphasized that convicts under the MCOCA could not be excluded from availing the benefits of the 2006 policy. It stated, "In view of the above discussion, we hold that the petitioner is entitled to the benefits flowing from the remission policy dated January 10, 2006, which was prevailing on the date of his conviction. We also hold that by applying the rule of ejusdem generis, convicts of MCOC Act cannot be excluded from availing the benefits of the said policy. Writ Petition is accordingly allowed."