Question paper circulation case: Police plea to cancel Bandi's bail rejected

HYDERABAD: The Hanamkonda court on Thursday dismissed a petition by the police to cancel the bail given to BJP state president Bandi Sanjay Kumar in the class 10 Hindi question paper circulation case.

Orders to this effect were passed after arguments from lawyers representing the Warangal police, and Sanjay, by the Additional Judicial First Class Magistrate, Matta Saritha.

Arguing for Sanjay, senior counsel L Ravichander pointed out that the government first failed to conduct the examinations and wanted him to be in jail, then it wanted him in jail for doing his job as an Opposition leader. “Now they want him in jail because they could not trace his lost cell phone. Upgrade your technology, do not downgrade the Constitution,” he said

Ravichander also pointed out that blaming the court that granted bail was capricious and was wholly uncalled for. He said that the manner in which confession from a Child in Conflict with Law was procured, was completely against the law and a conspiracy theory was not enough to have a Member of Parliament in jail.

The magistrate was also informed that the police were not forthright with the court that Sanjay reported that he lost his mobile phone, and that a complaint on this was also lodged with the police. Even as the police was doing so, they were claiming that Sanjay was refusing to hand over his phone to them, the magistrate was informed.

The police action was also in violation of Article 20(3) of the Indian Constitution, the court was informed. This Constitutional provision declared that no person accused of an offence shall be compelled to be a witness against himself, and the police insisting on that a missing phone be handed over to them, violates this provision, the court was told.

Sanjay’s lawyers, Ravichander, and Karuna Sagar, informed the court that the police failed to establish that Sanjay was in any way involved in the case, and said the entire episode of his arrest and charges framed against him were part of a political vendetta against the state BJP president.