The Supreme Court on Monday decided to seek the response of controversial RJD leader Mohammad Shahabuddin before considering the appeal by the Bihar Government and the victims to cancel his bail.
With over 50 cases pending against him, Shahabuddin was granted bail by the Patna High Court on September 7, 2016, in a case involving the murder of a star witness in a twin murder case. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, who appeared for the deceased’s father expressed “shock” at the HC order granting bail to a man who is a history-sheeter and has over 50 cases pending against him.
The State Government too lodged its protest against the bail order. Advocate Gopal Singh, who argued for the State, said that the HC failed to recognise the fact that Shahabuddin had a criminal past and had eliminated the star witness on his way to depose before the court in 2014. Earlier, Shahabuddin was convicted by a trial court for murdering the witness’ two brothers in 2004. The State said that the High Court ought not to have granted bail to an ‘A’ class history-sheeter and demanded a non-bailable warrant to be issued to the dreaded politician from Siwan for his re-arrest.
The Bench of Justices PC Ghose and Amitava Roy decided to issue notice on the two appeals but refused to grant any stay till it had heard Shahabuddin on the issue of cancellation of bail. While posting the matter for hearing on September 26, the Bench asked the State to examine whether bail was granted to Shahabuddin in other cases too which are pending against him.
Bhushan submitted that the accused held a reign of terror in Siwan and his presence outside jail will be a hindrance to fair trial in other cases pending against him. He said that his client Chandrakeshwar Prasad had lost his three sons and feared for his life too. Moreover, the party that he belongs to is in power in the State, and even inside jail, the accused received many favours as he virtually ran a “crime syndicate” from within the jail. Dozens of mobile phones were recovered from him inside the jail giving proof of the clout he possessed among the law enforcement agencies.
For this reason too, Bhushan requested the court to consider lodging Shahabuddin in a jail outside the State in order to give a sense of protection to the victims’ kin and other witnesses in the case.