Waghmare,a view from the colleagues’ gallery

Going by Karimulla’s case,Waghmare did not inspire much confidence. 

Last year,Karimulla approached the TADA court for a lawyer from the legal aid panel of the state. The court had assigned the case to Waghmare. She appeared before the court on three hearings on October 7,October 10 and October 20. She also filed an application for granting home-made food for Karimulla while he was in judicial custody.

According to court sources,the accused then wrote to the court requesting that he did not want to continue with Waghmare and wanted Farhana Shah as his lawyer instead. It remains unclear as to what had prompted Karimulla’s decision. On November 4,the next date of hearing,Shah appeared for Karimulla and has been defending him since.

The 40-year-old Waghmare,the wife of a Mumbai police officer,mostly has had her practice at the family court in Bandra ever since she came to Mumbai in 1996. She has been on the state legal aid panel,with an experience of over 12 years.

The other significant case in which Waghmare has appeared is a bail application she filed for one Pravin Parab,an alleged accomplice of gangster Guru Satam. Parab arrested in an extortion case. The bail plea was filed before special MCOCA Judge M R Puranik last year.

Waghmare appeared on one hearing. She was not present at the next hearing as she was out of town and the court rejected the bail plea.

She has also appeared before former Special MCOCA Judge Vinay Joshi in a case of robbers being charged under MCOCA. The trial in that case has not yet concluded.

Waghmare is also appearing in the multi-crore fake stamp paper scam case which is going on before Special CBI Judge C K Bedi,where she has been appointed from the legal aid panel. Over ten witnesses have been examined to prove the charges of conspiracy to procure and sell fake stamps. Waghmare has so far examined one panch witness in the case asking,according to sources,mostly routine questions.

Defence lawyer S B Pawar who has been Waghmare’s senior,said “She does not have much experience on the criminal side. She has mostly practised in the family court.”

According to some other lawyers on the legal aid panel and outside it,she has been a low-profile lawyer.

Repeated attempts to contact Waghmare for her comment failed as she did not answer calls or replied to text messages.