No letting off Raja Bhaiyya yet: SC

The state government, in an affidavit before the Supreme Court, had defended the withdrawal of POTA charges against Raja Bhaiyya and the two others saying they were neither members of any banned organisations nor involved in any anti-national activity.

However, the apex court had raised a query as to whether the Union government had been approached for permission to withdraw charges invoked under a central act. The original petitioners had alleged that the release of the accused from custody would put the lives of witnesses in jeopardy and submitted that the state could not, through an unilateral act, withdraw the charges.

An application filed by Raja Bhaiyya and other accused requested the court to make the Centre a party in the pending petition. The accused said that the state government has already approached the Centre seeking permission for dropping POTA charges against them and the response of the Centre could be asked once it was made a party to the petition.

The decision to withdraw POTA charges invoked by the Mayawati-led government against Raja Bhaiyya, his father and relative Akshay Pratap Singh was taken by the state government immediately after Mulayam Singh Yadav was sworn-in as the chief minister on August 29.

The special public prosecutor on September 1 filed an application before the special judge at Kanpur to withdraw charges saying ‘‘there is nothing substantial on record to show that the accused persons of this case were ever enabled to strike and create terror among the people at will within the meaning and spirit of POTA.’’

Saying criminal cases against Raja Bhaiyya could be dealt with by criminal laws, the government said they have not been found members of terrorist organisation listed in the POTA schedule.