Prashant Kishor, arrested for 'illegal' protest, claims he got 'unconditional' bail hours after judicial remand

Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor, who was arrested for an "illegal" fast unto death, claimed that he was released on "unconditional" bail on Monday hours after a court remanded him to judicial custody.

Earlier, he refused to secure release, alleging that the bail conditions were "unreasonable".

On a day of dramatic developments, Kishor was picked up from the Gandhi Maidan early in the morning, in pursuance of an FIR lodged against him last week for holding 'Aamaran anshan' (fast unto death) at Gandhi Maidan, in violation of a Patna High Court order that forbids any such demonstration at a place other than Gardani Bagh locality in the city.

The former poll strategist was produced before a court here which granted him bail, he claimed, with the condition that he must give a written undertaking not to take part in any "illegal" protest in future.

Kishor and his legal team held that the condition was tantamount to "admitting guilt" and the 47-year-old was remanded to judicial custody. The Jan Suraaj Party founder was later released by the authorities.

Kishor, who addressed the media late in the evening upon his release, claimed, "The local administration was so ill-prepared that it could not take me to the Beur Central Jail, after judicial remand, since they did not have the requisite papers. They kept driving me along in their vehicle."

Patna High Court advocate Kumar Amit, who also spoke on the occasion, said, "After the judge had passed the order, we argued before her that all the sections under which Prashant Kishor was booked are bailable. As such, he should have been granted bail by the police itself. The matter need not have been taken to the court."

He added, "We reasoned before the judge that under such circumstances, it was not proper to insist on a written undertaking. We also cited a number of judgements by the higher courts, including the Supreme Court. The judge very kindly agreed to modify her earlier order and granted unconditional bail."

An ebullient Kishor said he would continue his "Satyagraha" at the Gandhi Maidan and remarked, "The concluding point should be the same as where things had commenced."

Kishor has thrown his weight behind an ongoing protest by civil service aspirants to press the demand for cancellation of Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) exams held last month amid allegations of question paper leak.