You were in slumber till Shahabuddin got bail in 40 cases, SC tells Bihar

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday grilled the Bihar government for letting RJD leader Mohammad Shahabuddin come out of jail by getting bail in as many as 40 cases, and now seeking to put him back behind the bars even as the ex-gangster pleaded that he had been made a punching bag and a victim of media trial.

R Sedhuraman

Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, September 28

The Supreme Court on Tuesday grilled the Bihar government for letting RJD leader Mohammad Shahabuddin come out of jail by getting bail in as many as 40 cases, and now seeking to put him back behind the bars even as the ex-gangster pleaded that he had been made a punching bag and a victim of media trial.

“You came out of slumber” after Shahabuddin was finally out of jail despite the fact that he was sentenced to life in two cases and awarded a cumulative jail term of another 30 years in eight other cases, a Bench comprising Justices PC Ghose and Amitava Roy told Bihar’s senior counsel Dinesh Dwivedi.

“I do not want to defend what has happened. I only want to put forth the reasons for which his bail should be cancelled,” Dwivedi pleaded.

Despite remaining in jail since 2005, Shahabuddin kept on committing heinous crimes, which indicated the extent of his influence over criminal elements in Siwan district and in other parts of the state, the senior counsel pleaded.

The Bench pointed out that when Shahabuddin was granted bail on September 7, the public prosecutor did not even oppose it citing his criminal antecedents. The Bench wanted to know as to what kind of a person Shahabuddin was as he had been an MLA four times and an MP twice.

Arguing for another petitioner Chandrakeshwar Prasad, whose three sons were allegedly murdered by Shahabuddin, senior counsel Prashant Bhushan pleaded that he should be sent to Tihar Jail here and the trial in about 25 pending cases be conducted through video conferencing.

Appearing for the RJD leader, senior counsel Shekhar Naphade said his client was being subjected to media trial. Shahabuddin was acquitted in as many as 15 cases as he had merely been implicated due to his bad reputation. The politician was unnecessarily blamed for every crime committed in the region though he had no involvement. The fact that the courts had granted him bail in 40 cases was a proof of this fact, he contended.

The arguments remained inconclusive.