Mumbai: Holding that he had prima facie violated earlier travel conditions by failing to mark attendance and surrender his passport after returning to India, in a rare instance, a sessions court on Monday rejected a plea filed by the 2017 Kamala Mills fire case accused, Yug Tuli, a Mojo’s Bistro partner, seeking permission to travel to Muscat, Oman, from Aug 4 to Aug 11 for business purposes.Additional Sessions Judge Anil D Salunkhe rejected the plea after considering it and the prosecution’s reply filed through NM Joshi Marg police station.On Dec 29, 2017, a fire started at rooftop restaurants, 1Above and Mojo’s Bistro at Kamala Mills, where several patrons were enjoying a night out and claimed 14 lives. Tuli is charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder and is out on bail.Tuli had earlier sought permission to travel abroad between Aug 2 and Aug 11. On Monday a fresh application was filed requesting that, instead of the earlier travel request, he be permitted to travel to Muscat from Aug 4 to Aug 11 for business.The prosecution opposed the request, submitting that Tuli had already been granted permission on June 17 to travel abroad from June 18 to July 19 to Bangkok, China, Nepal, Muscat and Dubai, and again from Aug 12 to Aug 20 to Colombo, Sri Lanka. That permission was subject to conditions, including marking attendance and surrendering the passport at NM Joshi Marg police station within three days of returning to India. According to the prosecution, Tuli did not comply with those conditions after returning from the earlier foreign travel. It submitted that he “neither marked his attendance nor submit passport within three days after returning India on or before July 19, 2026…” and had sought fresh permission while allegedly retaining the passport.Among the 12 who are facing the culpable homicide not amounting to murder charge are 1Above’s owners Kripesh Sanghvi, Abhijeet Mankar and Jigar Sanghavi, Mojo’s Bristo partners Tuli and Yug Pathak, managers of 1Above- Kevin Bawa and Libson Lopez and Mojo’s Bistro’s waiter, Sayyed Ali. The others include fire officer Rajendra Patil and Utkarsh Pandey, who supplied hookah to 1Above and Mojo’s Bistro, Dinesh Mahale, sub-engineer, G south ward, BMC, and Sandeep Shinde, assistant divisional fire officer, Worli Division. One more accused, Vishal Kariya, will face the less serious charge of harbouring an offender. He is accused of helping the absconding Sanghvi brothers and Mankar before they were finally arrested by the police.
