SC remarks not to politicise issue relating to Bihar politician Anand Mohan's remission
May 19, 2023
New Delhi [India], May 19 : The Supreme Court on Friday granted more time to the Bihar government to file a reply to slain IAS officer G Krishnaiah's wife Uma Krishnaiah's plea challenging the premature release of politician Anand Mohan from prison and remarked not to politicise the issue as it is dealing with a legal matter.
A bench of justices Surya Kant and JB Pardiwala granted more time to the Bihar government plea seeking to file a counter affidavit on the petition but made it clear that no further opportunities would be given after this.
Further, when one of the lawyers sought to address the court and apprised the bench that he is representing one of the intervenors in the matter, the court told him not to politicise the issue as they are examining the legal issues related to the matter. The court, however, asked the lawyer to assist the court on the issue related to the matter.
The court listed the matter for further hearing in August.
The court was hearing IAS officer G Krishnaiah's wife Uma Krishnaiah's plea challenging the premature release of Bihar politician Anand Mohan from prison.
Senior Advocate Sidharth Luthra appeared for the petitioner. The plea was filed through advocate Tanya Shree.
Uma Krishnaiah, in the plea, said that Bihar has specially brought about an amendment to the Bihar Prison Manual 2012 with retrospective effect vide Amendment dated April 10, 2023, in order to ensure that the convict, Anand Mohan be granted the benefit of remission.
She said that amendment dated April 10, 2023, is against the notification dated December 12, 2002, as well as against the public policy and has resulted in the demoralisation of the civil servants in the state, therefore, it suffers from the vice of malafide and is manifestly arbitrarily and is contrary to the idea of a welfare state.
Gangster-turned-politician Anand Mohan Singh a convict in the then District Magistrate G Krishnaiah case, walked free from Saharsa jail before the break of dawn on April 27.
He was serving a life sentence in the 1994 murder of then Gopalganj District Magistrate G Krishnaiah. After the Bihar government amended the rules of the jail manual, an official notification stated that 27 prisoners who have served 14 years or 20 years in jail have been ordered to be released.
The gangster-turned-politician was earlier on parole of 15 days to attend the engagement ceremony of his MLA son Chetan Anand. He returned to Saharsa jail on April 26 following the end of his parole period.
Anand Mohan was convicted in the murder case of Gopalganj District Magistrate G Krishnaiah on December 5, 1994, in Muzaffarpur. Krishnaiah was killed by a mob allegedly provoked by Anand Mohan Singh. He was dragged out of his official car and lynched.
Anand Mohan was sentenced to death by a trial court in 2007. A year later, the sentence was commuted to life imprisonment by the Patna High Court. Mohan then challenged the verdict in Supreme Court but no relief has been granted yet and he has remained in Saharsa jail since 2007.
