Assam Tribune: New Delhi: Monday, June 05, 2017.
The Supreme
Court has sought the Assam Government’s response on a bail plea by suspended
IPS officer N Rajamarthandan, accused of providing information to a member of a
socio-political organisation flouting RTI Act rules.
A vacation
bench of justices MM Shantanagoudar and Deepak Gupta issued notice to the State
Government and listed the matter for further hearing on June 19.
Senior
advocate Nitya Ramakrishnan, appearing for Rajamarthandan, said the plea is
against the May 15 order of the Gauhati High Court rejecting his bail.
In his plea,
Rajamarthandan said that the case arises out of the disclosure under the Right
to Information Act, 2005 of the SIT progress report in a local case.
“For no more
than adhering to the spirit of the Right to Information Act, petitioner
(Rajamarthandan) is being prosecuted and has been in custody since April 6,
2017, on registration of an FIR for offences under sections 418, 471, 468 and
217 of IPC as well as section 5(b) of Official Secrets Act and Section 98A of
Assam Police Act,” he said.
The IPS
officer of 2006 batch said that none of the offences are prima facie made out
and all but one are bailable. “Section 468 of IPC is the sole non-bailable
offence carrying a maximum of seven years, and the arrest itself is in
contravention of the statutory requirement of section of 41 CrPC, that reasons
should be recorded for effecting an arrest in cases carrying a seven year term
or less,” he said.
The officer
giving detail of the case said that a local rioting incident took place under
Silapthar police station on March 6 where an office of the All Assam Students’
Union (AASU) was ransacked and a case was registered against various persons
alleged to be members of an organisation called Nikhil Bharat Bangali Udbastu
Samannay Samiti.
On March 6,
Samiti chief Subodh Biswas had allegedly instigated a mob at a rally with his
speech that led to the incident. He was later arrested on March 22 from a place
close to Bangladesh border in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas.
The IPS
officer said that around 60 people were arrested by the local police in this
regard and an SIT was set up to supervise the investigation by the police in
the case.
“Petitioner, who was SSP, CID headed the four
member SIT team. The other three members were from the local Assam Police but
not the CID,” Rajamarthandan said.
He added that
SIT gave its progress report on March 19, which noted the statements of 20 odd
witnesses, video evidence and highlighted that there is no direct evidence to
show the presence of many arrested persons or others named in the FIR.
The officer
in his plea said that the SIT progress report directed the investigating
officer that cogent material should be collected before roping in people as
offenders and keeping them in custody. The report was also submitted in court.
– PTI