Patna high court refuses urgent hearing on Pappu Yadav’s bail plea

PATNA: The Patna high court on Wednesday refused urgent hearing in a criminal writ petition and regular bail matter of former MP and JAP chief Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, who was arrested on Tuesday in a 32-year-old kidnapping case and sent to jail. A Madhepura court has issued non-bailable warrant against him for not appearing in the trial despite notices served on him.
Counsel Yogesh Chandra Verma appeared before the division bench of Chief Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice S Kumar and prayed for an urgent hearing on his matter on Wednesday itself.
However, the high court directed Verma to adopt the present procedure of sending email for mentioning the case for its urgent hearing on which a decision would be taken. Later in the day, Verma sent an email.
A criminal writ petition was filed on October 19 last year for quashing of the FIR against him in the kidnapping case lodged with Murliganj police station in Madhepura and quashing of the lower court order to issue non-bailable warrant against him in September last year. This petition is pending for hearing.
Besides, an interlocutory petition (IA) was also filed urging for granting Pappu regular bail on the plea that his arrest was malafide and aimed at settling political scores for his public work amid pandemic and teaching him a lesson.
The IA mentions how Pappu on May 7 exposed that ambulances purchased from MPLAD fund of Saran MP Rajeev Pratap Rudy were lying covered and unused at Amnaur in Saran amid pandemic. It also mentioned that Pappu had undergone gallbladder surgery three months back and was risking his life while helping the Covid-19 patients.
Verma submitted that an extraordinary situation is present at Madhepura bar where lawyers had passed a resolution to abstain from any court hearing during the pandemic due to which regular bail prayer is being directly made before the high court.
Pappu was granted bail by a lower court long back in the kidnapping case as police had delayed in filing the chargesheet. But, later, he did not appear in the court during case trial, leading to non-bailable warrant against him.
Meanwhile, Madhepura SP Yogendra Kumar said Pappu was produced before ACJM-I court on Tuesday night after which he was sent to Birpur sub-jail in neighbouring Supaul district. "It is presently serving as an interim jail for new inmates to spend a 14-day quarantine period," the SP said and added he would be later brought to Madhepura jail.