Jamtara/Giridih, Aug. 13: One down two to go. With the additional district and sessions judge today rejecting the bail application of Shibu Soren, lawyers of the former Union minister are waiting to see what happens in Jamshedpur and Jamtara court, where he is to be produced on August 16 and 18 respectively, before filing an appeal for bail in the high court.
The defence lawyers argued in Giridih that over the past two decades, Soren was actually being protected by policemen deployed by the government, during his stint as legislator, MP and chairman of the Jharkhand Area Autonomous Council (JAAC).
How could he be an absconder then, they wondered. But the district and sessions judge, Manoranjan Kavi, painstakingly recorded arguments and counter-arguments before declaring that he saw no merit for granting bail.
There was a long and acrimonious debate at the Jamtara fast track court, too, where the state opposed Soren’s prayer for copies of the case diary and police papers. While Soren’s lawyers claimed that it was the legal right of the accused to get access to investigation reports and case diaries so as to be able to prepare his defence, the prosecution opposed the prayer on technical grounds. The defence, the prosecutors argued, could not seek the papers at this stage of the trial.
The court, however, partially overruled the objection and allowed the defence to access police papers but not the entire case diary. Neither side appeared happy at the order.
In Giridih, Soren’s lawyers lobbied for his release on bail. The case, they pointed out, was closed almost 20 years ago and eight of the accused acquitted, after prosecution witnesses turned hostile. They also said even according to the case diary, Soren was actually on bail and therefore there could not be any scope for him to abscond.
The direction of the court to issue a non-bailable warrant against Soren, they argued, was incorporated at a later date. What’s more, they felt that Soren had never absconded and was visible in public life and maintained a high profile.
