How police and politicians helped 'poor' Shahabuddin escape jail
Mohammed Shahabuddin could walk out of jail owing to a September 7 bail order by the Patna High Court - a relief granted to him largely because the Bihar government failed to conduct trial against him in the murder case of Rajiv Roshan, prime witness in the killing of his two brothers by acid in Siwan in 2004.
On February 3 this year, the same bench of the high court had rejected the don's bail plea, directing the lower court to conclude the trial within nine months. The trial never started and, consequently, Shahabuddin, convicted in multiple case and accused in many others, got bail.
But why have trial proceedings against the don remained pending for three years in 11 criminal cases, including the one pertaining to Rajiv Roshan's murder? The answer will stump you.
It all began in 2013 when Shahabuddin suddenly became too poor to afford a lawyer. No kidding, although only a year later, when Shahabuddin’s wife Heena Shahab unsuccessfully contested the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, she declared assets worth Rs 7 crore.
To top it all, when Shahabuddin claimed he was financially broke, his wife showed an annual income of more than Rs 22 lakh in the same financial year of 2013-14.
It was in July 2013 when the convicted don submitted a petition in a Siwan court, claiming his financial incapability “to afford a lawyer". He requested the court to appoint a lawyer of his choice.
Granting his request on July 18, 2013, the court appointed lawyer Abhay Kumar Rajan as Shahabuddin’s defence counsel and fixed his wages equivalent to a special public prosecutor.
The state government opposed the move in the Patna High Court, arguing that Shahabuddin cannot be allowed to appoint a lawyer of his choice on public money.
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| The Patna High Court order was manipulated to defeat justice. |
The high court stayed Siwan additional district and sessions judge's order in October 2013, and issued a notice to Shahabuddin for his appearance, and till then stayed all further proceedings against the convicted former MP.
It can be assumed that the Patna High Court wanted to hear the other side of the story from the convicted politician before it could have delivered a verdict on whether or not he can be allowed a lawyer on public expense.
But, now as it seems, every organ of the government - the Siwan administration, the prosecution wing, police and jail administration and, of course, the politicians - joined hands to misuse the high court order for Shahabuddin’s benefit.
“In a clear conspiracy to benefit Shahabuddin, the notice was never served on him, though he was in jail and available. Shahabuddin never appeared - nor was made to appear - before the Patna High Court in the case of having a free lawyer, which inevitably kept the trial pending against him in as many as 11 cases,” said BJP senior leader Sushil Kumar Modi.
Non-issuance of notice on Shahabuddin and his non-appearance could have had just one consequence: it kept the trials against him in all cases in Siwan courts pending for three years.
And the only beneficiary of all this was Shahabuddin. It could not have been done without an intricate web of conspiracy and deceit, with which the politician, police and administrators moulded and manipulated a judicial order to defeat justice.
Clearly, had the state pursued the Rajiv Roshan case with right earnest, Shahabuddin's release could have been prevented. “The state government could not even frame charges against the jailed former MP. But the bigger question is, was it just incompetence or a deliberate attempt to help Shahabuddin?" asks Sushil Modi.
For Shahabuddin, however, it has paid to be a "poor man".