Can special court be set up to try jailed Maoist leader SC asks Odisha

New Delhi, Mar 20 (PTI) The Supreme Court has asked the Odisha government if a special court could be set up for trying jailed Maoist leader Duna Keshav Rao alias Azad who surrendered in Andhra Pradesh in 2011.
     A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh was informed by advocate Mohd Irshad Hanif, appearing for Rao, that he had been in custody for over 14 years.
     The Odisha government counsel said the state had filed a counter affidavit to Rao's plea specifying he was acquitted in 10 cases whereas 37 cases were pending against him.
     "Counsel for..state of Odisha is directed to have instructions as to whether the requisite special courts can be established, in consultation with the Chief Justice of Orissa High Court, to complete the pending trials against the petitioner," the bench said in its recent order.
     The matter was posted on April 28 after the Andhra Pradesh counsel sought time to respond to Rao's plea.
     On December 20, 2024, the apex court issued a notice on the plea and sought responses of both governments.
     Rao alleged that he was being booked in false cases one after another and the Odisha and Andhra Pradesh governments ought to fulfil their assurances given to him to lead a normal life by joining the mainstream of society.
     Rao, who was once considered one of the most dreaded Maoist commanders operating in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh and was a member of the CPI (Maoist) Orissa State Organising Committee, surrendered before Hyderabad Police on May 18, 2011.
     Odisha Police later took his custody, which Rao alleged was a breach of trust and faith on the part of Andhra Pradesh government, under whose surrender and rehabilitation policy he surrendered.
     "The petitioner surrendered to the Government of Andhra Pradesh with a hope that he would be allowed to lead a normal life by joining the mainstream of the society. His dreams were completely shattered when he was brought to Odisha on the pretext of formal enquiry and booked into a number of false cases. The petitioner is being booked in false cases on periodic intervals with the sole intention to keep the petitioner in jail for an indefinite period," he said in the top court.
     His plea sought directions to both the state governments to complete the trial of all pending cases in a time-bound manner, preferably within six months.
     It also sought the transfer of all criminal cases for an effective and smooth prosecution and completion of trial at one court, preferably in Bhubaneshwar, Odisha.
     The Odisha government last year booked him 14 more criminal cases, which is a classic example of the abuse of process as well as the flagrant infringement of the fundamental rights of a citizen, he said.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)