Kanhaiya bypasses trial court & HC, goes straight to SC for bail citing threat to life

JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar on Thursday took the unusual step of filing a writ petition in Supreme Court seeking bail, saying violence unleashed by a section of lawyers in the Patiala House Courts complex had disrupted the justice delivery mechanism and posed a grave threat to his life. The petition will be heard on Friday.

Normally, an accused seeks bail from the trial court. If denied, he moves the high court, keeping the apex court as the last option. The manner in which a section of lawyers, both on Monday and Wednesday, targeted the accused along with journalists and branded him “anti-national” appears to have spurred Kanhaiya’s lawyers to take the unprecedented step.

Kanhaiya’s petition, filed through ‘next friend’ Himanshu, a JNU student, said he was seeking release on bail because of the “exceptional and unprecedented breakdown of the justice delivery mechanism and administration of justice” even after the apex court had ordered maintenance of sanctity of the judicial process.

“There is a threat to the life and liberty of the petitioner, which also extends to the counsel appearing on his behalf, as well as the persons who would be required to stand as surety/sureties on his behalf in the event of appearance before the trial court,” the petition said.

Set up SIT to probe violence: Kanhaiya

The Supreme Court had ordered maintenance of law and sanctity of the judicial process but this did not deter a section of lawyers from indulging in violence, providing the trigger for Kanhaiya filing a writ petition seeking bail directly in the apex court. Appearing for Kumar, senior advocate Raju Ramachandran requested a bench of Justices J Chelameswar and A M Sapre for an urgent hearing. The bench agreed to take up the petition on Friday as the first item.

Finding former attorney general Soli J Sorabjee standing in the front row, the bench asked him whether he was appearing for anyone connected to the issue. Ramachandran told the court that Sorabjee was leading him in the bail matter.

However, Sorabjee later told TOI that he appeared for the six-member lawyers’ panel, which was tasked by SC on Wednesday to get first-hand information about the violence in Patiala House courts and file a report.

One of the lawyers representing Kanhaiya in the trial court too moved a writ petition requesting SC to set up a special investigation team to probe the violent incidents. He complained that he too was beaten up by a section of advocates but police had not yet registered an FIR on his complaint.

Slamming police for inaction in protecting the accused and his lawyers, the petition said, “This showed a grave dereliction on the part of those who are responsible for ensuring free access to justice and fair trial, and specially those who were under the writ of the Supreme Court to obey, comply and carry out the orders of the SC. “The situation that prevailed… in Patiala House courts was an affront to a citizen’s fundamental and human right to access to justice. It was also a violation of the fundamental right of the lawyers to represent their client.”