The Apex Court seeks former RJD MLA’s reply on plea challenging his bail
New Delhi : The Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay the Patna High Court’s September 9 order granting bail to dreaded strongman-turned former Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Mohd Shahabuddin (49) in a 2014 murder and instead issued a notice to him, fixing the next hearing a week later on September 26.
The Bench of Justices Pinaki Chandra Ghose and Amitava Roy directed the Bihar Government, which is one of the petitioners seeking cancellation of his bail, to serve the notice on Shahabuddin. The state government had also sought a non-bailable warrant against him.
The Apex Court was hearing a petition by the state government and another by the victim’s father, whose three sons were killed by Shahabuddin’s henchmen, two in his village back in 2004 and the eldest one 10 years later since he was an eyewitness to the gruesome murder of his brothers with acid.
Both the petitions were filed on Friday and the Chief Justice of India ordered their immediate listing on the next working day in view of a mention by father Chandrakeshwar Prasad’s counsel Prashant Bhushan as to his release from jail created a terror in Siwan district and threat to the life of his client. His petition challenged the regular bail by the High Court despite over a dozen cases of heinous crimes pending against the former MP.
Shahabuddin was in jail all these 11 years since after the arrest from his official MP”s flat in Delhi in November 2005. He was arrested in the case of the murder of Prasad’s two sons and awarded life sentence last year, though granted bail after he filed an appeal in the Patna High Court.
He has been in news since after his release from jail on September 10, after which he criticised Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as nothing but a “chief minister of circumstances,” a comment from which coalition partner RJD’s supremo Lalu Prasad immediately disassociated.
The Siwan Police had to provide security to at least 20 people in the district after his release as they faced threat from the dormant criminals and shooters who became active and were spotted with him after his release. He had to be shifted from the Siwan jail to Bhagalpur jail only three months ago as his hand was suspected in the murder of a Hindi daily’s journalist Rajdeo Ranjan in Siwan on May 13 by one of his henchmen who is since absconding.
