New Delhi, Dec. 19: The Supreme Court today came down heavily on states misusing the Prevention of Terrorism Act to settle political scores and dismissed a petition of the Tamil Nadu government seeking to cancel the bail granted to Tamil Nationalist Movement leader P. Nedumaran.

The court said the possibility of “misuse” of the act would be “taken up” later.

The ruling was given by a three-judge bench of Justices S. Rajendra Babu, A.R. Lakshmanan and G.P. Mathur after counsel for the Tamil Nadu government T.L. Viswanathan Iyer argued in favour of cancelling the bail granted by Madras High Court yesterday.

“The main objection,” the bench said, was the misuse of the law “against political opponents…. In a democracy, can’t a politician take a political view?”

The judges indicated that the possibility of misuse would be “inquired into” when the court takes up a petition by Nedumaran — pending before the apex court — challenging his arrest.

Nedumaran, imprisoned under the act for 17 months, was released on bail by Madras High Court following expiry of the 12-month statutory period.

“We are taking it (the Tamil Nadu government’s special leave petition) on board and dismissing it. We don’t want to interfere with the high court order,” the bench said.

When Iyer argued that Nedumaran, once released, would intimidate witnesses and tamper with evidence as he has been an ardent supporter of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the judges reprimanded him, saying: “You are taking things too far. We have gone through all necessary details.”

In a veiled reference to the number of instances in which the Jayalalithaa regime has invoked the anti-terror act against journalists, political rivals and others, the bench said: “Don’t create an atmosphere of panic. Nedumaran is a politician, and in a democracy can’t he take a political view on various matters?”

Iyer said the trial in Nedumaran’s case was on and the court might fix a time schedule for its completion.

Senior counsel R. Venkataramani, appearing for Nedumaran, reminded the apex court that he had been released on bail and that, too, after 17 months of jail. “Even in the judgment upholding the constitutional validity, it has been clearly settled that an accused is entitled to bail after one year of arrest.”

The Supreme Court had, in its judgment upholding the constitutional validity of the anti-terror law, stated that the “more than normal period” of one year’s imprisonment was only to facilitate investigation.

Gopal gets bail

Madras High Court today granted bail to R.R. Gopal, the editor of Tamil bi-weekly Nakkeeran, who was held under the anti-terror law early this year, reports our special correspondent from Chennai.