SC refuses to entertain bail plea of SP MLA Ramakant Yadav in spurious liquor case

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to entertain the bail plea of Samajwadi Party MLA Ramakant Yadav in a spurious liquor case in which nine people died in Azamgarh in 2022.A vacation bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Rajesh Bindal refused to interfere with the Allahabad high court order denying him bail.

Yadav's counsel withdrew the plea after the bench expressed disinclination to entertain it. The matter was dismissed as withdrawn.

Yadav had moved the top court against the May 14 order of the high court which rejected his bail plea with a direction to the trial court to complete the examination of the remaining witnesses within four months.

"Perusal of the record shows that first bail application of applicant was rejected by this Court vide order dated 06.09.2023 and trial Court was directed to expedite the trial and conclude the same as early as possible preferably within a period of six months, however only six witnesses have been examined so far.

"It appears from the materials on record that some of the material witnesses have been examined but statements of some of witnesses of fact are yet to be recorded. Keeping in view the facts of the matter, at this stage of trial, it would not be just and proper to release the applicant-accused on bail," the high court had said.

An FIR was registered in February 2022 at Ahraula police station in Azamgarh where nine people died allegedly after consuming spurious liquor. Though Yadav's name was not mentioned in the FIR, it was included in September 2022