Odisha court rejects Hansda’s plea for bail to attend LS

Reported by Santosh Jagdev

Bhubaneswar, Feb 12:

The special CBI court here today rejected the interim bail plea of Mayurbhanj BJD MP Ramchandra Hansda’s, who has been arrested by the CBI in connection ith the Odisha chit fund scam, seeking permission to attend the upcoming Lok Sabha session.

The court had posted the vedict for today after reserving it tiwce in the recent past.

Hansda’s counsel Rabindra Nath Patsani had urged the court on February 9 to grant an interim bail to his client to enable him to attend the forthcoming budget session of the Parliament session since he could lose his seat if he failed to attend the session.

“We had submitted the petition on two grounds. While Article 101 (4) the Constitution says that his seat will be declared vacant if he does not attend the House for 60 days at a stretch, we are also contesting the provisions under which he has been charged,” Hansda’s lawyer had said.

As per Section 167 (2) of the Criminal Procedure Code, a chargesheet must be submitted before the court within 90 days or else the accused will be entitled to bail.

“My client is languishing in jail for the last 96 days and the chargesheet in the Nabagidanta case is yet to be submitted before the court,” Patsani had argued.

The lawyer contended that Hansda was first booked under Section 420 of the IPC in a Nayapalli Police Station case and the chargesheet was to be submitted within 90 days in the case. However, when the CBI took over the case, it booked a fresh case under Section 409 of the IPC which necessitates that chargesheet is submitted within 120 days as per the Odisha Amendment of the CrPC. Since CBI Kolkata is investigaing the case, the Odisha Amendment of CrPC should not apply to the case, Hnasda’s counsel contended.

As more than 120 days have already passed since he was arrested, he is entitled to bail. “Alternatively, the court has been requested to permit him to attend the Parliament,” Patsani had said.

Hansda, who was arrested by the CBI on November 4 last year in connection with chit fund firm Nabadiganta Capital Services Pvt Ltd, was suspended from the BJD by party supremo and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on the day of his arrest.

Sources said Hansdah has received summons from the President of India to attend the Lok Sabha session which would begin from February 23.