a forgotten record
Jagjivan Ram Yadav, Faizabad, UP | Jail without bail: 38 years
In February 2006, the Supreme Court came to the rescue of 70-year-old Jagjivan Ram Yadav, who was jailed for 38 years. Arrested in 1968 for the murder of a neighbor’s wife, Yadav’s case came to light in July 2005 when the prison authorities of Faizabad Jail approached a trial court to ascertain his status as an undertrial prisoner. He had returned from a mental hospital in Varanasi, where he was sent on the basis of an administrative order. He was produced before the Additional Sessions Judge, Faizabad in 2005, who summoned records from Khandaga police station, where a murder case was registered against him. However, the police could not gather information about his case. The court observed that Yadav can neither be released on bail nor acquitted for want of record. Taking suo motu cognizance of reports in the case, the Supreme Court ordered the release of Yadav on bail.
cost of process
Ragini Dwivedi, Kannada Actor | Jail without bail: Two days in execution of bail order
Accused under the NDPS Act for his alleged involvement in a drug racket, Kannada actor Ragini Dwivedi spent 140 days in jail after both the special NDPS court and the Karnataka HC rejected bail. Dwivedi had claimed in the court that since no medicine was found with him, there was no evidence against him. However, the prosecutor argued that digital evidence was collected, and since the accused were influential people, the release could destroy the evidence. The Supreme Court ordered his release on January 21, but Dwivedi had to wait two more days for the order to reach the NDPS court and the jail authorities completed the formalities.
prisoner of order
Durga Prasad Timsina, Nepal | Jail without bail: 41 years
Durga Prasad Timsina, 72, a citizen of Nepal’s Mai municipality, was lodged in Dum Dum Central Jail for 41 years after the Calcutta High Court ordered his release on March 17. Jobs in Darjeeling. Subsequent medical reports established him as having the IQ of a 10-year-old child. The jail authorities discussed his condition with a lawyer, Hirak Sinha, who is the vice-president of the West Bengal Radio Club. Club members contacted Nepal Radio. His family was traced and he was asked to request the Nepalese consulate to proceed with his repatriation. In the end, his case came to trial and he was released so that he could be reunited with his 90-year-old mother.
forever undertrial
Rakesh Mishra, Vinay Kumar Mishra, W. Bengal, UP | Jail without bail: 12 years, 9 years
The case of Rakesh Mishra, accused of killing a woman in 2009, was pending in a sessions court in Sealdah, South 24 Parganas. He was granted bail in June, even as a Supreme Court bench directed the trial court to conclude the trial within six months and report compliance. Similarly, the apex court had granted bail to Vinay Kumar Mishra in March. Mishra, accused of murder and riots in UP, was in jail since 2012. On December 3, 2019, the Allahabad High Court rejected his third bail plea, even though Mishra had no criminal history. During the trial, it was submitted that despite asking the trial court to conclude the trial within four months, it had not happened. The Supreme Court said that since there is no possibility of early completion of the hearing, Mishra should be granted bail.
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