The court at Kala Ghoda is hearing a cluster of cases linked to Lawrence Bishnoi gang
55, tucked away on the fifth floor of a building in the city civil and sessions court complex in Kala Ghoda. It was on the same building’s fourth floor in Courtroom No 52 that Salman was sentenced to 5 years in jail for running over four people and killing one in 2002 (he was acquitted by Bombay high court). His repeated appearances over 2 years then drew large crowds. Siddique was shot dead outside his son’s office in Bandra (E) on Oct 12, 2024. If that threshold is crossed, Courtroom No 55 could be assigned with hearing more such remands. Yet despite the celebrity backdrop, everyday life inside 55 remains rooted in bureaucratic reality. In 55, celebrity, box-office success and gangster notoriety carry little weight if the paperwork is not in order.
There is less whispering, more note-taking, and a constant reminder that behind every “sensational case” is a dead man, a grieving family and a prosecution required to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt. MUMBAI: Until recently, celebrity-spotters hoping to catch a glimpse of film stars would stake out Bandra Bandstand, Juhu or Film City in the suburbs. The hunt has now taken an unexpected turn to south Mumbai-to Courtroom No. Presided over by special judge Satyanarayan Ramjivan Navandar, the court is hearing a cluster of cases linked to the Lawrence gang under the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA). The list includes alleged firing outside actor Salman Khan’s Bandra residence and filmmaker Rohit Shetty’s home, and the murder of politician Baba Siddique who had ties with Bollywood’s elite. If MCOCA is invoked in the attack on actor Tiger Shroff, that matter too could find its way here. The Baba Siddique case has added a graver dimension. Police linked the murder to Bishnoi-led organised crime activity. The tone in court around such a case is sombre. Even in a room used to high-profile name-dropping, a murder trial changes the atmosphere. Known for maintaining a strict, no-nonsense courtroom, Judge Navandar delivers sharp judicial remarks when police procedure falters. When investigators recently faced difficulty securing physical custody of Anmol Bishnoi, the judge pulled up the Crime Branch for showing little effort and asked why video conferencing had not been used if transfer orders were stuck in red tape.
Threats received by the actor from the Bishnoi network culminated in the firing outside his home on Apr 14, 2024 and triggered a major investigation into organised crime rackets operating across states. Entry to the fourth-floor courtroom was cordoned off, and people scaled the building opposite the court using water pipelines to catch a glimpse of Khan through the courtroom window. Court staff fear a repeat of the dangerous climb, this time a floor higher, when Khan arrives to depose in the MCOCA trial.