Mumbai: A retired judge. And, years ago, a sessions judge who delivered the verdict in Pramod Mahajan's murder case. Srihari Davare joined the Shiv Sena on Tuesday.
The former Bombay High Court judge joined the party at its annual Dussehra rally, in the presence of party chief and deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde. The rally was held at the NESCO grounds in Goregaon.
Davare's courtroom record is long. He has sat on the sessions court, a special TADA court and a narcotics court, and chaired the Police Complaints Authority.
As a sessions court judge, he convicted Pravin Mahajan in the murder of his brother and BJP leader Pramod Mahajan. That trial ran before Davare.
He was not the only joinee. Government pleader Avinash Kamkhedkar and office-bearers from several parties also joined the Sena at the rally, where the new members were welcomed.
The rally itself was a day of barbs. The rival Sena faction held its own gathering at Shivaji Park the same day, and both sides traded attacks. One side alleged the spread of anarchy; the other predicted a change of power.
Against that backdrop, the entry of a retired judge stood out. Davare's years on the bench, and his time at the Police Complaints Authority, carry weight in a state where the police and the courts are never far from the political argument.
That a former judge joined on the Dussehra rally stage is part of what sets the entry apart.
Davare said he had joined the party to serve people.