Advocate Pradeep Gharat, who is the special public prosecutor in the Ashwini Gore-Bidre murder case, has asked the Navi Mumbai police and the state home department to hire another lawyer if they cannot pay his outstanding dues of Rs 20 lakh. The senior counsel said he has not been paid for his services over the past two-and-a-half years, and a cheque of Rs 9.60 lakh issued to him bounced on March 31, 2022.

This is not the first time that Advocate Gharat had to raise the issue of non-payment of fees in the case. In October 2020, the state government cleared his bills after mid-day reported that he had not been paid for 17 months, a matter he had taken up with the Navi Mumbai police, too.

He was appointed to the case in May 2019 on the request of the slain cop’s family. Ashwini, an assistant inspector and a resident of Navi Mumbai, was killed allegedly by the then senior inspector Abhay Kurundkar and his three associates on April 11, 2016. The trial is underway at the Panvel sessions court.

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However, since the appointment, the payment of fees is irregular. “It’s been 2.5 years, I have been writing to the Navi Mumbai police again and again, asking for the status of my payment. However, no satisfactory answer has been given to me. The outstanding amount runs to around R20 lakh,” Advocate Gharat told mid-day.

“I am fed up with this attitude. I have written to the Navi Mumbai police and the home department. I have told them that if they cannot pay the fees, I will stop attending the hearings. They can hire a new lawyer for the case,” he added.

“There is some delay due to rotation of funds in different accounts. Advocate Gharat is in touch with our officers. We will be getting it cleared as soon as possible,” Navi Mumbai Police Commissioner Milind Bharambe told mid-day.

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