23 May, 2021

Treason case: Supreme Court grants bail to YSR Congress rebel MP Ramakrishna


Raghu Ramakrishna Raju is a Lok Sabha MP from Narasapuram parliamentary constituency in Andhra Pradesh. It is alleged that he is involved in acts of spreading hatred in communities with hate speeches and promoting dissatisfaction against the government.

The Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to the rebel MP of YSR Congress, K Raghu Ramakrishna Raju, who was arrested by the Andhra Pradesh Police in a sedition case registered against him. A vacation bench of Justice Vineet Saran and Justice BR Gavai referred to receiving Raju's medical report from the Army Hospital in Secunderabad, saying that there could be no denial that the MP in custody was ‘ill-treated’.

The court imposed several bail conditions on Raju, including that he would not give any statement to the media regarding the case. On May 17, the court ordered MP Raju to be transferred to the Army Hospital in Secunderabad in the immediate neighboring state of Telangana for medical examination and to keep him admitted there until further orders.

Raju is a Lok Sabha MP from Narasapuram parliamentary constituency in Andhra Pradesh. He has alleged that the State Police has registered a case of sedition against him 'due to political vendetta' as he has been criticizing the 'actions of his own party'. The bench also directed him to cooperate in the investigation while granting him bail.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, who appeared on behalf of Raju during the hearing through video conference, said that the detained MP was 'tortured', causing injuries to him. The bench initially said that the report from the army hospital said It has been said that Raju has a fracture in his toe. Rohatgi argued that his accusation of torture is proved by the medical report.

He said, ‘They are doing this with an MP. Please give them bail and the case of harassment should be investigated by the CBI’. Arguing that no sedition case is made against the leader, Rohatgi said that Raju is a sitting MP of the party and he has also been a critic of the state government and the Chief Minister. Senior advocate Dushyant Dave, appearing for the state, said that Rohatgi should not make a statement against the chief minister as he is not a party to the case.

Dave argued that Raju's plea seeking bail should be dismissed. Referring to his statements, Dave said that a case of treason is made. Regarding the medical report, he said that Raju was medically examined on 16 May and there is also an X-ray report in which there is no injury or fracture.

The bench was hearing two appeals. One of these was that of Raju, which he filed against the order of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, in which the court rejected his bail and asked him to go to the appropriate forum for relief. In the second appeal, his son K. Bharata has requested for a medical examination of Raju from a private hospital.

The CID, which arrested Raju on various charges including treason on May 15, has also accused two media houses and “others” in the case. According to the FIR, he has been charged under sections 124A, 153A, 505 and 120B (conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code for alleged offenses.

The CID has registered the case on its own and alleged, “Raju has not confined himself to impartial criticism of the government, but has made every effort to incite hatred, contempt towards her. Not only did he do this through his words, but he also used facial and hand gestures to incite his supporters to commit violence. His nature is seditious.”

The CID also alleged that the MP specifically targeted two communities and tried to show that the government was favoring both, while trying to spread hatred against them.

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Dr. Deepak Miglani

Email id:- legalbuddy@gmail.com

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