Until recently, fans hoping to spot film stars would gather at Bandra Bandstand, Juhu, or Film City in the Mumbai suburbs. Now, that search has unexpectedly shifted to South Mumbai, specifically to Courtroom No. 55, located on the fifth floor of the city civil and sessions court complex in Kala Ghoda, TOI reported.
For anyone monitoring Bollywood’s troubling connection with the gangland network led by Lawrence Bishnoi, this courtroom has become the meeting ground for the famous and the infamous.
Presided over by special judge Satyanarayan Ramjivan Navandar, the court is presiding over several cases tied to the Lawrence gang under the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA). The docket includes the alleged shooting outside actor Salman Khan’s Bandra residence, a similar incident at filmmaker Rohit Shetty’s home, and the high-profile murder of politician Baba Siddique, who had close ties to Bollywood elites. Should MCOCA charges be applied in the recent attack on actor Tiger Shroff, that case may also be assigned here.
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The hearings in the Salman Khan case first brought this courtroom into the public eye, as he is expected to serve as a key witness alongside his brother, actor-producer Arbaaz. Interestingly, it was on the fourth floor of the same building, in Courtroom No. 52, that Khan was previously sentenced to five years in prison for a 2002 hit-and-run incident (a conviction later overturned by the Bombay High Court). His frequent court appearances over a two-year span routinely drew massive crowds.
Among those regulars was Pranita Fulsagar from Pune, who traveled four hours for every single hearing. Now 32, married to a police officer, and a mother of twins, Fulsagar still hopes to see the actor in person once more. "I have a book full of his pictures," she said. "I want him to live a full and happy life," she said.
In the past, high-profile trials have dramatically altered the usually quiet atmosphere of the City Civil and Sessions Court, filling it with lawyers, litigants, judicial staff, and curious onlookers. This crowd often included unique characters; during Khan's earlier trial, one frequent attendee was a Bandra senior citizen who meticulously took notes in colored pens and claimed to have been present at the scene of the 2002 accident.
When judgment was delivered in May 2015, special security measures were put in place. Access to the fourth-floor courtroom was strictly restricted, prompting onlookers to scale the building opposite the courthouse via water pipes just to catch a glimpse of the actor through the window. Court staff now worry about a similar scenario playing out—this time one floor higher—when Khan eventually testifies in the ongoing MCOCA trial. The actor had received repeated threats from the Bishnoi syndicate, culminating in the April 14, 2024 shooting outside his residence, which sparked a massive multi-state investigation into organized crime.
The murder of Baba Siddique on October 12, 2024, outside his son's Bandra (E) office, has brought a starker tone to the proceedings. With police attributing the killing to Bishnoi's syndicate, the mood in the courtroom during these proceedings remains grave. Even in a room accustomed to prominent names, a murder trial alters the environment: quiet murmurs subside, note-taking intensifies, and the focus resets on the reality that behind every headline lies a lost life, a grieving family, and a prosecution tasked with proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The addition of the Rohit Shetty case has further established Courtroom No. 55 as the central hub for matters involving alleged gang threats to the film industry. If charges regarding the Tiger Shroff incident satisfy the legal threshold for MCOCA—which demands evidence of organized crime, past offenses, ongoing illegal activity, and official state sanction—it too may be added to Judge Navandar’s docket.
Despite the heavy media attention and celebrity involvement, daily operations inside Courtroom No. 55 remain grounded in routine judicial procedures. Judge Navandar, known for running a firm and disciplined courtroom, does not hesitate to reprimand investigators when procedural errors occur. When the Crime Branch recently struggled to secure physical custody of Anmol Bishnoi, the judge criticized officers for their lack of initiative, questioning why video conferencing was not utilized while transfer orders were delayed by administrative delays. In Courtroom No. 55, fame, cinematic success, and criminal reputation hold no influence if the legal documentation is incomplete.
(With inputs from TOI)