Patna: A bail application was filed on Monday in the court of the Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate (SDJM) on behalf of former Bihar minister and Janshakti Janata Dal (JJD) President, Tej Pratap Yadav. His counsel, Advocate Nisha Singh, questioned the legality of the police action, alleging that the arrest was politically motivated and carried out in violation of due process.
Addressing the media after filing the petition, Advocate Singh claimed that Tej Pratap Yadav had been visiting a shopping mall in Patna when police entered the premises and took him into custody.
She further alleged that the timing of the arrest was deliberate.
“The Patna Police detained him on Saturday so that he would be unable to obtain immediate legal relief because of the Sunday court holiday,” she claimed.
The lawyer also questioned the legal procedure followed by the police, alleging that no First Information Report (FIR) had been registered at the time of the arrest.
“An arrest without a prior FIR raises serious questions about due process. He was arrested first, and the FIR was registered later,” Advocate Singh alleged.
She also urged the court to consider Tej Pratap Yadav’s medical condition while deciding the bail application. According to the lawyer, he suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure, and keeping him in jail could adversely affect his health.
The bail plea requested that he be kept under medical observation instead of remaining in judicial custody.
Advocate Singh also challenged the serious charges invoked by the police, including allegations of attempt to murder and inciting a riot.
According to the defence, Tej Pratap Yadav neither delivered any inflammatory speech nor encouraged violence during the student protest.
She contended that he was merely passing through the area in his vehicle, briefly stepped out after students requested him to do so, waved the national flag, and then left the spot.
The bail application is now before the SDJM court for consideration. Meanwhile, the police have maintained that the case was registered in connection with violence during the Bihar Bandh protests, and the investigation is continuing. The court’s decision on the bail plea is awaited.
(IANS)
