New Delhi: The Supreme Court today refused to
entertain a petition which sought a direction for the arrest
of former RJD MP from Bihar Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav in
the murder of a CPI(M) MLA.
Yadav's bail application was cancelled by the apex court
on May 2.
"We cannot leave our judgeship and go about searching for
him. That is not our job. You better approach the competent
authority with your complaint," Justice Markandeya Katju,
heading the Bench which also included Justice Thakur, said.
Special CBI judge B M Srivastava had on February 14,
2008, pronounced Yadav, former independent MLA Rajan Tiwari
and Anil Yadav guilty of the murder of CPI(M) MLA Ajit Kumar
Sarkar and awarded them jail terms for life.
The apex court Bench made the remarks while disposing of
the petition filed by Rabindranath Singh, a prosecution
witness, through counsel Amit Pawan complaining that CBI
failed to arrest Yadav even after cancellation of his bail.
The apex court had on May 2 cancelled Yadav's bail and
slammed the Patna High Court for "committing contempt" by
violating its order against his release.
While cancelling the bail, the apex court directed
forthwith surrender of Yadav.
At that time, the Bench comprising Justices Markandeya
Katju and A K Patnaik was furious with the Patna High Court
granting bail to Yadav despite its 2007 direction that no bail
should be granted to him by any court in the country.
CBI had on March 26 approached the apex court challenging
the Patna High Court's February 18, 2009, order granting bail
to the 43-year-old RJD leader undergoing life imprisonment in
the murder case.
"It is a matter of regret that despite clear order passed
by this court in November, 2006, that no bail should be
granted by any court, the High Court has gone ahead and
granted bail," the bench said while allowing CBI's appeal
plea for bail cancellation.
CBI had complained that the High Court granted bail to
the RJD leader without passing any reasoned order after
initially rejecting his two bail applications.
Sarkar, who had a running feud with Pappu Yadav over
issues relating to farm labourers, along with his driver
Harendra Sharma, and party worker Ashfaqur Rehman, was gunned
down at Subhas Nagar in Purnea town on June 14, 1998.
Till date, Yadav has not surrendered nor has he been
arrested.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, August 03, 2010, 21:39