Friday, April 8 2005 17:06 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Mumbai: Ramesh Taurani, chairman of TIPS Music Company, was today (Apr 8, 2005) granted bail by a Sessions court in an appeal filed by Maharashtra Government against his acquittal in the Gulshan Kumar murder case.

Taurani was released on bail by judge U D Malvankar in the sum of Rs 25,000 with surety in the like amount.

Taurani, charged with conspiracy to kill audio king Gulshan Kumar, was acquitted by a Sessions court on April 24, 2002. However, the State appealed against the verdict in the Bombay High Court.

The High Court admitted the appeal on March 3, 2003 and ordered execution of warrant against Taurani, as per the procedure laid down under section 390 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).

The warrant was executed today and Taurani surrendered before Bandra police. He then moved the Sessions court for bail, which granted him liberty.

The prosecution had charged Taurani and music director Nadeem of Nadeem-Shravan duo with hatching a conspiracy to kill his business rival Gulshan Kumar. It alleged that Taurani had hired gangster Abu Salem to kill Kumar and paid Rs 25 lakh for the contract killing.

The conspiracy charges could not be proved in the trial court and Taurani was acquitted. Nadeem did not face the trial, as he did not return from UK after the death of Kumar.

The person who had shot dead Kumar in 1997 was, however, convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.