New Delhi, Sept. 30: The Supreme Court today set aside the bail granted to gangster-politician Mohammad Shahabuddin by Patna High Court, sending him back to Bhagalpur jail with a rider that the pending murder trial against him be expedited.

The apex court said the high court had "erred" by enlarging the RJD leader on bail on September 7 and it was not justified in granting him liberty on the mere ground that a trial against him - for the 2014 murder of Rajiv Roshan, a witness to his own two brothers' murder by acid bath - was delayed.

"Judged on the entire conspectus of the attendant facts and circumstances and considering the stage of the present case before the trial court where charge-sheet has already been submitted, together with pending proceedings against the respondent-accused as on date, and his recorded antecedents in the various decisions of this court, we are thus unable to sustain the impugned order of the high court granting bail to him," a bench of Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose and Justice Amitava Roy said in the judgment. "In view of the above, the order passed by the high court granting bail to the respondent-accused is set aside and the state is directed to take all consequential steps, inter alia, for taking him to custody forthwith.

"The appeals are allowed in the afore-stated terms. However, we make it clear that we have not expressed any opinion on the merits of the case and direct the state and the concerned court to take all steps as contemplated in law to dispose of the case, as early as possible."

The apex court set aside the high court order on the appeals filed by the Bihar government and Chandrakeshwar Prasad, father of the three brothers who were murdered allegedly at the instance of the Siwan strongman. The high court had granted bail on the ground that there is no progress in the trial relating to the murder of Rajiv Roshan, Chandrakeshwar's eldest son, who was the sole witness to the 2004 murder of his two younger brothers in Siwan.

The state and Chandrakeshwar had challenged the bail on the ground that Shahabuddin has a criminal history of around 60 cases pending against him at various stages of trial and appeal on his conviction before various courts in Bihar as well as in the Patna High Court.

Citing a number of its earlier judgments, the apex court said a balance has to be struck between an individual's liberty and societal interests.

"In the instant case, having regard to the recorded allegations against the respondent-accused and the overall factual scenario, we are of the view, having regard in particular to the present stage of the case in which the impugned order has been passed, that the high court was not justified in granting bail on the considerations recorded," the bench said while setting aside the bail. "Qua the assertion that the respondent-accused was in judicial custody on the date on which the incident of murder in the earlier case had occurred, the judgment and order of the trial court convicting him has recorded the version of the brother of the deceased therein, that he had seen the respondent-accused participating in the offence. We refrain from elaborating further on this aspect as the said judgment and order of the trial court is presently sub judice in an appeal before the high court."

"On a careful perusal of the records of the case and considering all the aspects of the matter in question and having regard to the proved charges in the concerned cases, and the charges pending adjudication against the respondent accused and further balancing the considerations of individual liberty and societal interest as well as the prescriptions and the perception of law regarding bail, it appears to us that the high court has erred in granting bail to the respondent-accused without taking into consideration the overall facts otherwise having a bearing on the exercise of its discretion on the issue," the bench said.

The RJD leader's release had sparked a political slugfest between ruling allies the RJD and the JDU after he declared termed Nitish Kumar "chief minister because of circumstance" and Lalu Prasad did not criticise it.

Match-fixing, says BJP

Speaking to the media after the two Bihar-related court rulings today, former MP and BJP spokesperson Syed Shahnawaz Hussain said: "The day Shahabuddin was released, we were the first to express concerns over the return of jungle raj. From Bhagalpur to Siwan, no law prevails. But there's no conflict between the Dal and the RJD, there's only match-fixing. That's because Shahabuddin refuses to accept Nitish as his leader. RJD is the larger party, yet it does not have its chief minister."

Some of Nitish Kumar's leaders had "more serious charges" against them than Shahabuddin, Hussain said, adding: "So the Dal need not distance itself from Shahabuddin. If law and order was fine in Bihar, there was no need for the apex court to intervene. This decision is welcome to us. BJP knows the mann ki baat (mind) of 11 crore Biharis."

On the high court striking down Bihar's prohibition law, Hussain said: "When the move was announced, the BJP welcomed it in one voice. But we are in not in favour of a Tughlaqi law (a whimsical law), we oppose a repressive law. We said the government's policy was fine but the intention was wrong. In the name of prohibition, the government wants to play politics."

He explained why: "On the one hand, the government has permitted liquor manufacturing and bottling and given tax exemptions to these manufacturers and on the other hand, the chief minister waxes eloquent on the virtues of prohibition."

Hussain claimed liquor prohibition had led to a proliferation of drug abuse in Bihar. "A ban of drug use is what we need because instead of alcohol people are now consuming cough syrup and cannabis," he said.