NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Bihar government to produce original records in connection with the remission granted to gangster-turned-politician Anand Mohan, who was sentenced to life term in the 1994 murder of G Krishnaiah, the then district magistrate of Gopalganj.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Jamshed B Pardiwala told the Bihar government counsel to produce the original records related to the remission granted to Mohan for the perusal of the court.
Before fixing the matter for further hearing in August, the court told an intervenor not to politicise the issue or bring caste angle into the matter.
"We will hear on law. We will let the Bar assist the court," the bench said.
Senior advocate Sidharth Luthra appeared for petitioner Umadevi Krishnaiah, widow of the slain officer.
On May 8, the court had issued notice to the state government on a plea filed by the wife of IAS officer G Krishnaiah challenging premature release of Mohan from life term.
Mohan convicted of murder for leading a mob which lynched then Gopalganj district Magistrate in 1994.
The petitioner challenged validity of the Bihar government's decision to amend the rules to facilitate release of Mohan, convicted of killing a public servant on duty.
Mohan, who enjoyed considerable influence among the dominant Thakur caste group in Bihar, has already been released from Saharsa jail on April 27.
The petitioner questioned the release of convicts on various grounds. She contended life imprisonment handed down to the gangster-turned- politician meant incarceration for his entire natural course of life as in his case, he was awarded death penalty on October 5, 2007 by the trial court which was commuted to rigorous life imprisonment by the Patna High Court on December 10, 2008 and confirmed by the Supreme Court on July 10, 2012.
A 1985-batch IAS officer Krishnaiah hailed from Telangana. He was just 37-year-old. He was beaten to death by a mob in 1994 allegedly at exhortation of Mohan, when his vehicle tried to overtake the funeral procession of gangster Chhotan Shukla in Muzaffarpur district.
