Thursday, April 20 2006 17:10 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court today (Apr 20, 2006) adjourned till May two a petition filed by gangster-turned politician Arun Gawli challenging the invocation of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act(MCOCA) against him in an extortion case.

Gawli's anticipatory bail application with regard to the same case was to be heard today at the sessions court, but the High Court directed that the same may be disposed of on May two, after it deals with the present petition before it.

As a result, the interim protection from arrest granted to Gawli by the sessions court would continue till then.

A case was registered against Gawli at Agripada police station in the city last November after Shakeel Qureshi, ahotelier, alleged that Gawli had demanded ransom from him after settling a dispute between Qureshi and his partner Rajendra Doshi.

But the matter took a new turn when Qureshi approached the High Court saying that police had pressurised him to file the complaint against Gawli, and he wanted to withdraw it.

On April 14, police obtained sanction from the joint commissioner of police to invoke MCOCA against Gawli in the same case, which he challenged in the High Court.

But the division bench of Justice D G Deshpande and Justice V K Tahilramani - which is scheduled to hear Qureshi's case on May two decided that both Qureshi's and Gawli's applications would be heard at once, as they are interrelated.