How MlA Bhagat mocked judicial system for 22 yrs

law takes its course for all, but when it takes over two decades to catch hold of a tainted ‘neta’, it raises serious question on the criminal-justice system.

The June 23 verdict by a Ranchi court sending AJSU MlA Kamal Kishore Bhagat and his pal Alester Bodra to jail for seven years, more than 22 years after a case was lodged by an influential and renowned doctor is bound to reinforce the view that the politically connected persons will continue to evade the law for long by keeping faith in protracted criminal trial. It also exposes excruciatingly slow judicial process and shoddy prosecutions.

The timeline in Bhagat’s case is revealing—17 years for the trial to begin and five years to complete the trial during which the prosecution produced five witnesses to gather evidence against the MlA!The case, in a nutshell, is that an FIR was lodged against them on September 28, 1993 after a group of three AJSU leaders barged into the chamber of Dr KK Sinha seeking donations to hold a party rally in Patna. Since, Sinha refused to pay the donations a scuffle erupted among the guards present there following which the doctor was badly thrashed by them. 

later, the security men of the doctor with the help of his patients also thrashed Bhagat and two other AJSU members so brutally that one of them died.

The AJSU has now sought the State Government to constitute a special investigation team (SIT) to probe as how the counter case lodged by for the killing of one of his associates Sudarshan Bhagat was closed after giving clean chit to the doctor. It is altogether a different story.The case was committed for sessions trial on February 2, 1994. The charges against the duo were framed on February 13, 1998 and they were present in the court.

Thereafter, they jumped the bail and did not attend the court summons. The court waited for them for seven years to turn up and face the process of law, and finally declared them absconder and a permanent warrant was issued against them on September 1, 2005.Significantly, the Supreme Court has now made it mandatory for the lawmakers to face the verdict within one year of the framing of the charges.

If a trial cannot be completed within the said time, the lower court judge shall give reasons in writing to the Chief Justice of the concerned High Court as to why the trial could not be completed. Bhagat remained a declared permanent absconder for almost five years from September 1, 2005 to February 7, 2010 moving in full public view, fighting elections from lohardaga in 2009 and winning it.

He himself surrendered to the rule of law after becoming an MlA, apparently in view of the Supreme Court order, which had forced him to fill up the election affidavit with all his criminal antecedents.He remained in jail for around one year and got bail from Jharkhand High Court, which also directed the lower court to proceed with the case for evidence by splitting the case.

The court examined five witnesses in last around five years to gather the evidence and deliver its verdict against Bhagat and Bodra. The witnesses included Nawal Kishore Singh, compounder, Dr Arun Sarkar, Dr Krishna Kant Sinha. Dr Mazid Alam and Mahendra Nath Tiwary, the investigating officer of the case.

The verdict also raises a serious question of accountability. Somebody-court, public prosecutor or the police-has to be held responsible for the protracted trial and when Bhagat was making mockery of the justice system.