Jharkhand HC delivers verdicts pending for yrs within week after death row convicts moves SC
New Delhi (PTI): The Jharkhand High Court has delivered verdicts on 10 convicts, six of them on death row, all in a week, after they moved the Supreme Court complaining delay in deciding their appeals against conviction despite the verdicts having been reserved years ago.
On July 14, the top court agreed to examine the plea of the convicts and sought a response from the state government and the high court within a week.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi, which took up the matter on July 21, was informed by advocate Fauzia Shakil, appearing for the convicts, that the judgment had been pronounced by the high court on different dates.
The top court noted in its order that in the case of life convicts Amit Kumar Das and Basant Kumar Mahto, their convictions and sentence had been set aside by the high court on July 16 and July 18, respectively, and while Das had been released from jail, Mahato remained behind the bars, as the judgement was not uploaded.
The bench directed the state to release Basant Kumar Mahto, subject to furnishing bail bonds.
On another life convict, Nirmal Bhengra, the bench noted that his appeal against conviction and sentence had been dismissed by the high court on July 18.
The bench directed the Member Secretary of the Jharkhand State Legal Services Authority to contact the petitioner immediately and grant him free legal aid if he is not in a position to engage private counsel, so that he could seek his remedy before the court or for remission.
It said similar recourse should be followed in case of death row convict Nitesh Sahu, whose appeal had been dismissed.
The top court noted that in the case of Sanatan Baski and Sukhlal Murmu, both death row convicts in the same case, the judgement had been delivered by the high court on July 17. Still, there was a difference of opinion, and the matter was referred to a third judge.
The bench requested the newly appointed chief justice of the Jharkhand High Court to take up these matters on his bench and try to decide them at the earliest.
It noted that in the case of three other death row convicts, the high court pronounced verdicts on July 18, and their appeals had been dismissed.
The top court asked the state legal service authority to contact convicts, Gandhi Oraon, Rohit Rai, and Bandhan Oraon, and assist them in filing an appeal in the apex court or a plea for remission before the appropriate authorities.
Similar directions were passed in the case of Pratap Sahi, a life convict, as his sentence was already suspended while the order on his appeal was pending.
Nine of 10 convicts were imprisoned in Birsa Munda Central Jail in Ranchi's Hotwar, whereas one was lodged in the Central Jail in Dumka district.
The top court, which has called for reports from all high courts where cases have been pending for years after being reserved for judgement, asked the registry to provide the reports to Shakil for collation and posted the matter for hearing on September 22.
On May 5, the top court frowned upon the high court and sought reports within a month from all high courts on cases where judgements were reserved on or before January 31.
Terming such non-pronouncement of verdicts by courts a "very disturbing issue," the top court said it will lay down some mandatory guidelines for the high courts.
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2nd phase of Bengal poll: 39.97 per cent polling till 11 am amid sporadic violence
Kolkata (PTI): Nearly 40 per cent of the 3.21 crore electors voted till 11 am of the second phase of polling in West Bengal amid sporadic violence, while tension gripped the Bhabanipur seat briefly as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Suvendu Adhikari took swipes at one another in the same booth area.
Voters queued up from 7 am outside booths in Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, Nadia, North and South 24 Parganas and Purba Bardhaman districts, which form Bengal's electoral and political core.
Of the total electorate eligible to vote in this phase, 1.57 crore are women, and 792 are third-gender.
Till 11 am, West Bengal recorded 39.97 per cent polling with Purba Bardhaman registering the highest turnout at 44.50 per cent, followed by Hooghly at 43.12 per cent and Nadia at 40.34 per cent.
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Howrah recorded 39.45 per cent polling, while North 24 Parganas registered 38.43 per cent. Kolkata North and Kolkata South recorded 38.39 per cent and 36.78 per cent turnout, respectively.
South 24 Parganas, a politically crucial district witnessing several high-profile contests, recorded 37.9 per cent voting.
The first phase of polls in 152 Assembly seats of West Bengal on April 23 also recorded more than 41 per cent polling till 11 am.
"Polling is underway peacefully, barring some minor incidents in certain areas. We have sought reports from the officials concerned," a poll panel official said.
The early-morning convergence of Banerjee and Adhikari at the same booth area in Chakraberia turned Bhabanipur -- the chief minister's electoral bastion -- into the centrepiece of the day, reinforcing the symbolic weight of their prestige battle seen as a rematch of Nandigram, where the BJP leader had defeated her in 2021.
Banerjee was already seated outside the booth after receiving complaints of alleged intimidation of local TMC leaders when Adhikari arrived there amid heavy deployment of central forces.
Stepping out of his car, Adhikari declared, "I will not allow any hooliganism", while Banerjee accused the BJP of trying to "rig" the election using central forces, police observers and election officials.
"BJP wants to rig this election. Polls in Bengal are usually peaceful. Is there goonda raj here?" Banerjee told reporters, alleging CRPF personnel had visited the homes of TMC leaders late Tuesday night and unleashed terror in the area.
She alleged that election observers were acting at the BJP's behest and claimed TMC workers were being selectively targeted across districts.
Adhikari dismissed the charges as signs of "frustration", claiming Banerjee had realised that "not a single vote" was coming her way.
Banerjee, who usually steps out of her Kalighat residence late in the day to cast her vote at Mitra Institution School, broke convention and hit the ground before 8 am, moving through Chetla, Padmapukur and Chakraberia, underlining the stakes attached to Bhabanipur and the wider battle for south Bengal.
Reports of violence, vandalism and tension surfaced from several districts.
In Nadia district's Chapra, a BJP polling agent was allegedly assaulted inside a booth during a mock poll. The BJP accused TMC supporters of attacking its agent, while the ruling party denied the charge. In Shantipur, a BJP camp office was found vandalised.
In South 24 Pargana's Bhangar, the ISF alleged that its polling agents were prevented from entering booths.
Howrah's Bally constituency saw tension at a booth in Liluah after an EVM malfunction delayed voting, prompting central forces to lathi-charge agitated voters. Two people were arrested in the matter.
Police and RAF personnel were also seen chasing away crowds near a booth in Amdanga following complaints of unlawful gathering by bike-borne supporters.
In Panihati, BJP candidate Ratna Debnath, the mother of the RG Kar victim, faced protests and her car was allegedly stopped by TMC workers, while in Jagaddal, the recovery of a firearm near a polling booth triggered tension before police and central forces restored order.
BJP candidate from Basanti assembly constituency in South 24 Parganas, Bikash Sardar, on Wednesday, alleged that "200-250 TMC goons" attacked his car and assaulted his driver when he was visiting polling booths in the constituency.
The TMC did not immediately respond to the allegations.
Unlike the first phase, where the BJP sought to defend its north Bengal gains, the final round has shifted the battle squarely to the TMC's strongest belt.
In 2021, the ruling party had won 123 of these 142 seats, leaving just 18 for the BJP and one for the ISF. For the BJP, breaching this southern fortress remains critical if it hopes to mount a serious challenge for power in the state.
