4 min readNew DelhiMar 3, 2026 11:24 AM IST
First published on: Mar 3, 2026 at 08:00 AM IST
The Jharkhand High Court has granted bail to Prabhu Prasad Sao (alias Prabhu Sao), an alleged overground worker for the proscribed CPI(Maoist) organisation, citing his prolonged incarceration of eight and a half years without the examination of a single witness.
A division bench of Justices Rongon Mukhopadhyay and Pradeep Kumar Srivastava set aside the November 2025 order of the Special NIA Judge, Ranchi, which had previously rejected Sao’s bail application.
The division bench concluded that given the requirement to examine 51 witnesses, the trial was not likely to be concluded in the near future. (Image enhanced using AI)
“The nature of allegations levelled against the petitioner, his period of incarceration has been since September 1, 2017, and that not a single witness has been examined by the prosecution, which furthermore reflects, considering that 51 witnesses are to be examined, that the trial is not likely to be concluded in the near future, the court said on February 27.
Allegation of purchasing arms and ammunition
- The case originated from an investigation into Maoist activities in the Rud Forest in 2017.
- According to the prosecution, Sao was a supporter of Sudhakaran, a central committee member of the
- CPI(Maoist), and was involved in purchasing arms, ammunition, and explosive materials for the group.
- He was arrested on September 1, 2017, following the recovery of 13 live rounds of ammunition and Maoist literature based on his disclosure statement.
- The National Investigating Agency (NIA) took over the investigation in 2021, re-registering the case under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Arms Act, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), and the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act.
- The NIA alleged that Sao had been a facilitator for top Maoist operatives since 1999, providing logistics, collecting levies, and harboring active cadres.
Prabhu Prasad Sao’s case
- Appearing for the Maoist leader Sao, advocate Indrajit Sinha argued that despite the gravity of the charges, Sao had been in custody since his arrest in 2017.
- He highlighted that while the NIA listed 84 witnesses (later pruned to 51), not a single witness has been examined to date.
- He further noted that charges were only framed on September 24, 2025, more than eight years after the initial arrest, suggesting that the delay was attributable to the prosecuting agency.
State’s stand
- The Special Public Prosecutor for the NIA, Amit Kumar Das, vehemently opposed the bail and argued that Sao’s release would pose a threat to protected witnesses and that the gravity of the offenses outweighed the length of incarceration.
Findings
- What speaks out in the present case is of the long incarceration of the appellant, which has been since September 2017, i.e., almost eight and a half years, and not a single witness has been examined by the prosecution.
- As per Das, Special Public Prosecutor for the NIA, the list of 84 witnesses as submitted by the NIA has been pruned down to 51 witnesses, but such pruning down cannot be concluded to presume that the trial would be completed anytime soon.
- In view of the nature of allegations levelled against the appellant, his period of incarceration has been since September 1, 2017, and that not a single witness has been examined by the prosecution which furthermore reflects, considering that 51 witnesses are to be examined, that the trial is not likely to be concluded in the near future, we are inclined to allow this appeal.
Jharkhand High Court granted bail to Prabhu Prasad Sao, an alleged CPI(Maoist) facilitator. (Image generated using AI) 
The division bench concluded that given the requirement to examine 51 witnesses, the trial was not likely to be concluded in the near future. (Image enhanced using AI)
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