SC agrees to hear plea by widow of slain IAS officer against Anand Mohan's release

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a plea by the widow of IAS officer G Krishnaiah, who was lynched in 1994 by a mob led by former Bihar MP Anand Mohan Singh, against the latter's premature release from prison.

A counsel mentioned the petition before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and sought hearing in the matter.

The bench agreed to list the petition on May 8.

The plea filed by Uma Krishnaiah contended that life imprisonment awarded as a substitute for death penalty has to be carried out strictly as directed by the court, and it would be beyond application of remission.

"The sentence of imprisonment for life given to a convict as a substitute for death sentence must be viewed differently and segregated from the ordinary life imprisonment given as the sentence of first choice. Life imprisonment, when awarded as a substitute for death penalty, has to be carried out strictly as directed by the court and would be beyond application of remission," the plea contended.

It submitted that the life imprisonment handed down to gangster-turned-politician Anand Mohan meant incarceration for his entire natural course of life.

"Imprisonment for life means full natural course of life and cannot be mechanically interpreted to be 14 years. It means that imprisonment for life lasts until the last breath."

Anand Mohan was released from the Saharsa jail on April 24 following an amendment in Bihar's prison rules.

The plea said he is a politically influential person and has committed G. Krishnaiah's murder while himself being an MLA.

He enjoys political support and has several criminal cases pending against him.

The plea argued that Rule 481(1)(c) of Bihar Prison Manual, 2012 provides that convicts whose death sentence has been commuted to life sentence will be eligible for consideration of remission only after completion of 20 years of sentence.

"In the present case, Anand Mohan was awarded death sentence by the trial court on October 5, 2007, which was later commuted to 'rigorous imprisonment for life' by the Patna High Court and has been confirmed by the apex court. Anand Mohan has served only 14 years of incarceration and therefore, he is not eligible to be considered for remission as per Rule 481 (1)(c) of the Bihar Prison Manual, 2012," the plea contended.

"Grant of remission to the present convict is in contravention of the notification dated December 10, 2002 which was applicable on the date of conviction, i.e., October 5, 2007. Therefore, the order dated April 24, 2023 by the state of Bihar is in violation of the notification dated December 10, 2002 as well as in contravention of judgments of the apex court."

The plea also said that the Bihar government has specially brought about an amendment to the Bihar Prison Manual, 2012 with retrospective effect vide amendment dated April 10 in order to ensure that the convict, Anand Mohan, be granted the benefit of remission.

"The said amendment dated 10.04.2023 is against the notification dated 10.12.2002 as well as against the public policy and has resulted in demoralisation of the civil servants in the state. Therefore, it suffers from the vice of malafide and is manifestly arbitrary and is contrary to the idea of a welfare state."

In 1994, Krishnaiah, then District Magistrate of Gopalganj, who hailed from Telangana, was beaten to death by a mob when his vehicle tried to overtake the funeral procession of gangster Chhotan Shukla.

The mob was instigated by Anand Mohan.