Apex court reserves order on Orissa legislator’s bail

NEW DELHI - The Supreme Court Wednesday reserved its order on a petition seeking to cancel bail granted to Orissa’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Manoj Kumar Pradhan by the state high court in a 2008 riots case.

“Are you saying that in the circumstances the SLP (special leave petition) is not maintainable?” asked the apex court bench of Justice B. Sudershan Reddy and Justice S.S. Nijjar.

The apex court query came in the wake of submission by senior counsel P.S. Narasimhan that the “grant of bail could not be cancelled at the behest of the private person”.

He said that under the statutory provisions it was only the state that could move the court for the cancellation of the bail.

Pradhan and another accused Kali alias Prafulla Mallick were sentenced to seven-year rigorous imprisonment for being a part of a mob that killed Parkhita Nayak during riots in Kandhamal district in 2008.

Nayak was set on fire Aug 27, 2008, when he along with his wife and children was going on bicycle.

Pradhan and Kali were tried and sentenced by the fast track court of Phulbani in Kandhamal district. Both were convicted June 29, 2010.

Pradhan challenged his conviction and sentencing before the Orissa High Court and was granted bail July 7.

Pradhan’s bail was challenged by Nayak’s widow Kanaka Rekha Nayak.

Opposing the plea for the cancellation of bail, senior counsel Narasimhan told the court that the only charge against Pradhan was that “he is terrorising the people”.

Narasimhan told the court that there were 12 cases against his client and in seven he had been acquitted.

Opposing Narasimhan’s contention, senior counsel Colin Gonsalves said that the relatives of the victim too could move the court seeking the cancellation of bail.

He said that in this case the state government was supporting petitioner Kanaka Nayak.

He said that except for Pradhan and Kali, other accused were untraced and on the run.