Representational Pic
Judge GA Sanap, who has presided over several high-profile cases including the 1993 blasts case and the 26/11 attacks case, has been transferred as Principal District and Sessions Judge to Jalgaon.
One of the senior-most judges of the Mumbai City Civil and Sessions Court, the Additional Sessions judge’s most recent case was against Abu Jundal – an alleged conspirator of the Mumbai terror attacks.
The 54-year-old judge, who was appointed to the Mumbai court on November 22, 2010, also has the distinction of holding the longest tenure here.
Confirming the transfer, Registrar General of the Bombay high Court SB Aggarwal told Mirror that the transfer order was passed only last week before the Bombay High Court closed for summer vacation. He will replace Principal Judge of Jalgaon Savita Barne, who is due to retire on May 30, 2018.
During the eight years that the senior judge has spent here, he has heard some of the most significant cases including the Pradeep Jain murder case against gangster Abu Salem and the case against David Headley to name a few.
It was in Judge Sanap’s high-security court no 54 where David Headley, the man who orchestrated the November 26, 2011 terror attacks went from being an accused to an approver of the court and deposed as a witness.
For the Headley trial, Judge Sanap would make sure that the court proceedings began at 7 am sharp and ended at 1pm the entire week as he was testifying from an undisclosed location.
It was also before Judge Sanap’s court that actor Sanjay Dutt surrendered in after the Supreme Court held him guilty in the 1993 blasts case under the Arms Act.
Originally from Chandrapur in Maharashtra, Judge Sanap was posted in Nashik before being given the assignment in Mumbai. Sanap was assigned certain portfolios by the Principal Judge, which included overlooking repairs and security. In the absence of the Principal Judge, he was the de facto in charge of the court.
