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Law

Justice P.B. Sawant Blasts Bombay High Court for 'Dangerous' Order on Bail for Men Accused of Communal Murder

The former Supreme Court judge said that granting bail to the accused, charged with murder, on grounds that they were provoked in the name of religion, could likely aggravate the communal atmosphere in the country.

Bombay high court. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Bombay high court. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

New Delhi:  Former Supreme Court judge Justice P.B. Sawant has termed as “unconstitutional, irrational and dangerous,” the recent Bombay high court order granting bail to three men accused of murdering Mohsin Shaikh on grounds that they were provoked “in the name of religion” and did not have any personal enmity against him.

According to an Indian Express report, the accused, Vijay Rajendra Gambhire, Ganesh alias Ranjeet Shankar Yadav and Ajay Dilip Lalge, allegedly attacked the Muslim man after attending a meeting of Hindu Rashtra Sena – a radical right wing group – in Hadapsar in Pune.

In a statement released on Saturday, January 28, Sawant asserted that the court’s order, which makes a distinction between murders caused on grounds of religious enmity and those done for other reasons, may become a precedent for others.

Sawant added that the state government may not appeal against the high court’s order since the accused are Hindus and the victim is Muslim. “The higher court should, therefore, take a suo motu cognisance of this decision and reconsider it according to the established law on the subject.”

The former judge further added that the decision could likely “aggravate the communal atmosphere in the country” and asked the court to reconsider it.