Quit if you can8217;t tackle Veerappan 8212; SC to Karnataka

Today8217;s order came on the Special Leave Petition SLP filed by a retired Deputy Superintendent of Police, Abdul Karim, who challenged the Mysore Special Judge8217;s August 19, 2000 order pursuant to an application by the Karnataka government for release of the accused facing trial under TADA on charges of killing former Superintendent of Police Harikrishna and Sub-Inspector Shakeel Ahmed in August 1992. The petitioner is the father of Shakeel.

Karnataka Chief Minister S.M. Krishna said today the state would pray to the Supreme Court to dispose of quickly the SLP. 8220;We will pray for quicker disposal of the SLP8230; perhaps on Monday,8221; Krishna told reporters in Bangalore. About the Apex Court8217;s adverse comments on the Karnataka government, Krishna said one need not take this view too seriously, noting that 8220;in legislatures also such arguments and counter arguments do take place8221;.

Karnataka had to bore the brunt of the ire of the Court, which expressed in no uncertain terms that the state failed for eight long years to nab a forest brigand and now as he had kidnapped a matinee idol, it was trying to tell the court that the liberty of every citizen was paramount.

8220;What have you done for last eight years? What protection have you given to the people? Such kind of an incident was waiting to happen. Now you say that you cannot do anything. If you cannot, then quit and make way for somebody else who can do it,8221; the bench said.

The court said it was negligence on the part of Karnataka not to take effective steps to get the forest brigand and his associates, accused of committing heinous offences, to book and to compound it, it was now trying to release the bandit8217;s associates. 8220;This is compounding negligence upon negligence upon negligence,8221; the bench said and added 8220;we will not be a party to this release of the accused.8221;

Solicitor General Harish Salve explained that kidnapping of Rajkumar was not a question of one person8217;s liberty but was a more sensitive issue as he represented the linguistic community and warned that there might be civil unrest if something untoward happened.

Terming the affidavit filed by Karnataka as 8220;coy8221; and 8220;not candid8221;, the bench said 8220;let us be very clear about it. Problem of controlling law and order is state8217;s responsibility. Do not bring in the judiciary or the Judicial process into it.8221;

However, Salve said there were several women among the accused who would otherwise be released and sought the court8217;s permission for recording of the same in the order.

The court would have none of the requests and told the Solicitor General that as and when their release under any other provisions of law arose, the state government could approach the apex court.

In a jam-packed court, the vitriolic remarks of the court on mishandling of the situation by Karnataka government was heard in pin-drop silence by both the lawyers and several visitors in the gallery.

The petitioner said justice was being denied to the victims of Veerappan8217;s 8220;barbarity and banditry8221; and alleged that if the bandit8217;s associates were released 8220;many innocent ivilians and brave forest officials will suffer irreparably.8221; He alleged that vested interests might have been party to sharing of the bounties of Veerappan, who according to one estimate has killed several hundred elephants for ivory and cut large number of forests for smuggling of sandalwood.

My loyalty is with Veerappan

TIRUCHIRAPALLI: Manickandan, one of the five Tamil extremists, whose release has been sought by forest brigand Veerappan, has stated that his father, who filed a petition in the Madras High Court seeking a direction to prohibit his son being handed over to the outlaw, had neither sought his consent to file the case nor consulted him. The lawyer for the extremists said their priority was loyalty to the movement all belong to Tamil National Retrieval Force and not towards the family.