On Ex MP's Controversial Release, Supreme Court Seeks Records From Bihar

The Supreme Court  today asked the Bihar government to release the records on the early release of gangster-politician Anand Mohan, who was in jail for abetting the murder of an IAS officer.

The request challenging the release has been filed by the wife of G Krishnaiah, the wife of the officer who was lynched by a mob led by former Bihar MP Anand Mohan in 1994.

Mr Krishnaiah, who hailed from Telangana, was beaten to death by a mob in 1994 when his vehicle tried to overtake the funeral procession of gangster Chhotan Shukla in Muzaffarpur district.

Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, appearing for Uma Krishnaiah said the state government has changed the policy retrospectively and released him in the case. He urged the bench to direct the state to place entire records of criminal antecedents of Anand Mohan and sought the matter to be listed in the month of August.

In the last hearing on May 8, the Supreme Court issued a notice to the Centre and the Bihar government over the early release of Anand Mohan.

Anand Mohan was released from the Saharsa jail on April 27 following an amendment in Bihar's prison rules.

His name figured in a list of more than 20 prisoners who were ordered to be set free by a notification issued by the state's law department earlier this week as they had spent more than 14 years in prison.

The remission of his sentence followed an April 10 amendment to the Bihar Prison Manual by the Nitish Kumar government whereby the restriction on early release of those involved in the killing of a public servant on duty was done away with.

This, the critics of the state government's decision claim, was done to facilitate the release of Mohan, a Rajput strongman, who could add heft to the grand alliance led by Nitish Kumar in its fight against the BJP. Several others, including politicians, benefited from the amendment to the state prison rules.