Hearing their plea, Justice Ajay Khanwilkar and Justice A R Joshi directed the police department and Maharashtra government to produce on August 6 the case papers that include statement of jewellers, recorded by a magistrate's court, about alleged harassment by the staff of Mulund police station.u00a0

The petition, filed by Mulund Jewellers Welfare Association, alleged that its 23 members were summoned to the police station on January 31 and asked to pay the "hafta" (bribe) saying one of the traders had bought jewellery from a thief. The petitioner said that smaller jewellers were asked to cough up Rs 5000 per month while the bigger ones Rs 10,000. However, as they refused to give in to their demand, senior police inspector Jeevajirao Jadhav allegedly ordered their arrest under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on false charges and put them behind bars.