Supreme Court To Hear Petition Challenging Release Of Convicted Gangster-Turned-Politician In IAS Officer Murder Case

On Monday, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a petition on 8 May that was filed by the widow of G. Krishnaiah, an IAS officer and District Magistrate who was murdered in 1994.

The petition challenges a modification in the Bihar prison law that enabled the early release of Anand Mohan, a former Bihar MP and gangster-turned-politician, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of G. Krishnaiah.

In 1994, during a funeral procession of gangster Chhotan Shukla in Muzaffarpur district, a mob beat Krishnaiah to death after his vehicle attempted to overtake the procession. Leading the procession was Mohan, then an MLA.

Uma Krishnaiah made an urgent mentioning before a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, who scheduled the date for the hearing on 8 May.

On 27 April, Mohan was released from Saharsa prison. The Bihar Prison Manual was modified on 10 April to permit convicts serving life imprisonment for serious crimes to apply for remission if they had spent 14 years in jail.

The amendment also eliminated the prohibition on life convicts, who were convicted of murdering a public servant on duty, from applying for sentence remission.

The State Law Department notification implemented the amendment without providing any explanation for it.

This amendment proved to be advantageous for Mohan and 26 other convicts who applied for and obtained sentence remission.

“Life imprisonment, when awarded as a substitute for the death penalty, has to be carried out strictly as directed by the Court and would be beyond application of remission,” the petition stated, reports The Hindu.

Critics accuse the Nitish Kumar government of amending the law to facilitate the release of Anand Mohan, a Rajput leader who could aid in the electoral battle against the BJP.