Karnataka HC rejects gangster Ravi Pujari's bail plea
Bengaluru, Jul 28: A single judge bench of the High Court of Karnataka headed by Justice Srinivas Harish Kumar has dismissed the bail plea filed by gangster Ravi Pujari alias Raviprakash in a case registered at a police station here.
Though the bail plea was rejected, the HC observed that the government prosecutor will be held responsible for the delay in the trial.
The government prosecutor has failed to cross-examine the witnesses even though the trial court framed the charges long ago. Witnesses were to be called and brought before the court by the government prosecutor, the judge observed on Thursday.
The trial court shall complete the trial within one year. If the trial is not completed within a year, the government prosecutor will be responsible, the judge said.
The advocate for Pujari argued before the court that "Despite the order of the High Court, the trial has not started. Even after two and a half years since the court order, not a single witness has been examined. If the trial is delayed in this regard, the public will lose faith in the judiciary.".
The government advocate pointed out that 107 cases were pending against Pujari in Karnataka, 20 in Maharashtra, Kerala, Gujarat and Rajasthan. As the accused was being taken to different states for investigation, there is a delay in the trial of the current case.
In the current case, it is alleged that on the instructions of Ravi Pujari, 17 of his henchmen tried to kill relator KS Samiullah and his friends of Shabnam Developers between January and February 15, 2007 with the intention of instilling fear in the real estate industry and extorting money from realtors.
A case was registered against the accused under IPC Sections 302, 307 and Arms Act Sections 3 and 25. The case was split as the five accused including Ravi Pujari were absconding. The rest of the accused in the case were acquitted. Pujari had approached the HC seeking bail in this case.
Ravi Pujari was extradited from Senegal and brought to India on 21 February, 2020 in pursuance of the order passed by the I Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court, Bengaluru in the case filed by the Tilak Nagar police station. He has been in custody ever since and faces multiple cases in several states across India.
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Voting begins for Assam''s 126 assembly seats
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Guwahati (PTI): Polling for all 126 Assam assembly constituencies began on Thursday to decide the electoral fate of 722 candidates, officials said.
In the high-stakes election, the ruling BJP is aiming for a third consecutive term in office, while the Congress seeks to wrest power after being ousted in 2016.
Polling, being held in a single phase, began at 7 am and will conclude at 5 pm. Long queues of voters were seen outside polling stations from early morning.
An electorate of 2.50 crore, including 1.25 crore women and 318 from the third gender, can exercise their franchise in 31,490 polling stations across the state.
Prominent candidates include Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Congress state president Gaurav Gogoi, assembly Speaker Biswajit Daimary, Leader of the opposition Debabrata Saikia, AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal, Raijor Dal president Akhil Gogoi, and Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) chief Lurinjyoti Gogoi.
Several cabinet ministers, including the AGP’s Atul Bora and Keshav Mahanta, and the BPF’s Charan Boro are also in the fray.
The Congress has the highest of 99 contestants, followed by the BJP (90), AIUDF (30), NDA allies AGP (26) and BPF (11).
Opposition alliance’s Raijor Dal is contesting in 13, AJP in 10, CPI(M) in 3 and APHLC in 2. Outside the two coalitions, the AAP is contesting in 18 seats, UPPL in 18, TMC 22, JMM 16 and there are 258 independents.
The ruling NDA’s main constituents are the BJP, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the Bodo Peoples’ Front (BPF) while the opposition alliance comprises the Congress, Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), CPI(M), All Party Hill Leaders Conference (APHLC) and CPI(ML).
The counting of votes is scheduled on May 4.
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