Kataka: The Orissa High Court has declined to grant interim protection from arrest to Kuldeep Rath, who has sought anticipatory bail in a case registered at Choudwar police station following allegations levelled by a former woman jailer of Choudwar Circle Jail.
Hearing the anticipatory bail petition on Monday, a single-judge bench headed by Justice V. Narasingh directed the state government to produce the case diary. Allowing the prosecution’s request for time to submit the document, the court scheduled the next hearing for November 25.
Rath’s counsel had sought interim protection from arrest until the next hearing. However, the court rejected the plea, observing that the apprehension of the petitioner being sent to jail during the intervening period was unfounded in view of the Supreme Court’s rulings in the Arnesh Kumar and Satender Kumar Antil cases.
The court noted that the maximum punishment prescribed under the provisions invoked in the case was seven years’ imprisonment.
Meanwhile, former Jail Director General Susanta Kumar Nath and Rath have separately approached the High Court seeking quashing of the FIR registered at Choudwar police station.
On November 6, the High Court heard the two petitions and directed the state government to place an updated case diary on record. The matter relating to the quashing of the FIR is scheduled to come up for hearing on November 11.
