J Dey murder case: Lawyer Pradeep Gharat who 'specialises' in getting life sentences

Pradeep Gharat, a native of Alibaug, is the soft-spoken special public prosecutor who secured life imprisonment for nine men accused in senior journalist J Dey's murder case.

A seasoned advocate, who is known not to raise his voice during court arguments, has a long history of success in his over two-decades-long legal carer. Gharat, for the first time in Maharashtra's judicial history, used video-conferencing to record evidence in the infamous stamp paper scam involving Abdul Karim Telgi.

Gharat was also the SPP appointed in the first case involving pirates, who were arrested in 2000, by the Yellow Gate police. Gharat argued and secured conviction for 19 Indonesian nationals.

Speaking to DNA, Gharat who also got conviction for Salman Khan in the hit-and-run case, in which the actor was later acquitted by the high court, said, "I simply do my job. For me, each case is important. In each case, the victims or their family members rely on the prosecution to get justice for them. This is the motivation that drives me to do my job as prosecutor in all sincerity."

In around 30 high-profile cases he has represented, Gharat has got life imprisonment for 25 convicts. "It is not about the convict's sentence or the number of years he is given behind bars. That should be important. Every punishment matters in the larger interest of justice and society."