New Delhi: Hearing a plea filed by the widow of slain IAS officer G Krishnaiah challenging the premature release of former Bihar MP Anand Mohan Singh, the Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the gangster-turned-politician to immediately deposit his passport with the local police station and report there every fortnight.
“Respondent No. 4 (Anand Mohan Singh) is directed to deposit his passport with the local police station and he shall record his presence in the said police station every fortnight,” ordered a Bench presided over by Justice Surya Kant.
Saying that it will give no further opportunity, the Bench, also comprising Justice KV Viswanathan, asked the Union Government to file its affidavit, if so required, within one week.
Appearing for the widow of the slain bureaucrat, senior advocate Siddharth Luthra opposed the Centre’s request for more time of four weeks and said that the matter cannot be pushed back for one reason or another.
Luthra added that the Union Government was issued a notice in May last year and a copy of the petition was served to the office of the Attorney General of India as well.
The matter has been fixed for further hearing on February 27.
In November last year, the top court had posted the matter for further hearing on February 6, 2024.
Anand Mohan Singh was released from the Saharsa Jail following an amendment in Bihar’s prison rules.
The petition, filed by the widow of the slain IAS officer, alleged that the Bihar government amended the 2012 Bihar Prison Manual with retrospective effect in order to ensure that Anand Mohan Singh was granted the benefit of remission.
The Bihar Government has defended his release by saying that the benefit of amended remission policy was extended in other cases as well, adding that the amendment sought to remove discrimination on the basis of status of a victim.
In 1994, Krishnaiah, then District Magistrate of Gopalganj, was beaten to death by a mob when his vehicle tried to overtake the funeral procession of gangster Chhotan Shukla. The mob was instigated by Anand Mohan Singh.
(IANS)
