SC stays release of 51 Veerappan associates

SC stays release of 51 Veerappan associates
ENS AND AGENCIES

NEW DELHI/BANGALORE, AUGUST 29: In a major blow to the negotiation process for freeing veteran Kannada actor Rajkumar, the Supreme Court today stayed the release of 51 associates of sandalwood smuggler Veerappan as agreed to by Karnataka. ``None of the accused mentioned in the special leave petition will be released on bail or otherwise till further orders,'' a three-judge bench, headed by Justice S P Bharucha, ordered and posted the case for hearing on Friday.

The order came on an SLP filed by a retired Deputy Superintendent of Police, Abdul Karim, who challenged the Mysore special judge's August 19 order which was passed following an application by the state government for release of these accused. They are facing trial under TADA on charges of killing former SP Harikrishna and sub-inspector Shakeel Ahmed in August 1992. The petitioner is father of Shakeel Ahmed.

Reacting to the development, Karnataka Chief Minister S M Krishna said in Bangalore that the stay would not delay the release of Rajkumar and three others. He said the stay and their release were separate issues and Veerappan was more concerned about the intentions of the Karnataka and Tamil Nadu governments than anything else.

When a journalist asked him whether the government would explain its stand to Veerappan through AIR, the Chief Minister said ``we need to explain to the Supreme Court, not to Veerappan''.

In New Delhi, Abdul Karim's counsel mentioned the case before the bench comprising Justice Bharucha, Justice S S M Quadri and Justice N Santosh Hegde in the morning. The bench had directed the state government not to release any of the accused till the matter was heard at 3 pm.

The counsel for the Karnataka government told the Court that the state government was unable to tackle Veerappan. Justice Bharucha then took up his pen, saying he was going to record it. The counsel then requested the Court not to do that and sought time to seek instructions before making any submissions.

The Court then adjourned the hearing, observing that it would like to dispose of the matter at the preliminary stage itself. The contention of the petitioner was that the state government had no absolute power to review the cases as a policy matter and order release of the accused. The retired police officer has sought quashing of the order of the special judge.

Appearing for the state, Solicitor General Harish Salve later informed the court that none of the accused had been taken out of custody. In Mysore the bail orders of the 51 accused could not be executed after the special public prosecutor informed the designated court here of the SC's instructions.

In the Harikrishna murder case, 115 persons, including Veerappan, were chargesheeted but the special task force constituted to nab the dacoit could arrest only 75 of the accused, the petitioner said.

The petitioner said the murder of his son and Haribhaskar took place in 1992 and ``crores and crores of rupees of the tax-payers' money was spent since then to bring Veerappan and his associates to book'' but to no avail.

``On July 30 popular film actor Rajkumar and three of his relatives were abducted by Veerappan and his associates with the malafide intention of creating some sensational and emotive circumstances and blackmail Karnataka state with highly illegal demands,'' he said.

Abdul Karim said justice was being denied to the victims of Veerappan's ``barbarity and banditry'' and alleged that if the bandit's associates were released ``many innocent civilians and brave forest officials will suffer irreparably.''

``If released on bail, (the accused) may jeopardise the interest of the families of the victims and create terror in the minds of the general public and disturb and destroy the public order,'' the retired police officer said.