Gauhati HC Stays Barpeta Court Observations On Assam Police

Guwahati: The Gauhati High Court has stayed the remarks made by a Barpeta session's court against Assam police while it granted bail to Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani last week.

The Brapeta court had granted bail to Mevani on Friday and the judge pulled up the state police for filing a "false FIR" against the MLA in a "manufactured" case of molesting a policewoman while urging the Gauhati High Court to "stop police from turning Assam into a police state".

"Converting our hard-earned democracy into a police state is simply unthinkable, and if the Assam Police is thinking about the same, the same is perverse thinking," the Barpeta court had stated.

Following this, the Assam government had challenged the lower court's order but the Gauhati high court stayed the remarks made by the Barpeta court judge.

"That remarks of the district judge were put forth by the Assam government before the Gauhati High Court on Monday and the High Court, after hearing our statements, prima facie expressed satisfaction, and stayed the observations and remarks made by the district judge of the Barpeta court in the bail order until further orders,'' Advocate General, Assam, Devajit Saikia told reporters.

He said that it has a demoralizing effect on the police force and also casts a person upon them.

The Advocate General of Assam urged the court to stay the observation and warned that failing to do so would have a detrimental effect on the morale of the Assam police as well as the state of Assam itself.

Justice Devashis Baruah's order stated that the findings of the sessions judge that charges against Mevani were manufactured to keep him for a longer period are "beyond the exercise of the jurisdiction of the sessions court in proceedings under section 439 CrPC."

"These findings are also prima facie beyond the exercise of the jurisdiction of the sessions court in proceedings under section 439 CrPC and, accordingly, the said observation is stayed," the court said.

"It is clarified that the instant order may not be construed in any manner as a stay to the grant of the bail to the learned Sessions Judge in his order," it added.

Earlier, the Assam police had arrested Jignesh Mevani from Gujarat's Palanpur for his tweets criticizing Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He was granted bail but was again arrested on allegations of allegedly assaulting a policewoman. A local court remanded him to five days of police custody.

Also read: Two killed in road accident at Bhagawatipara in Palasbari

Also watch: