SC seeks CBI response on bail plea of UP politician D P Yadav

New Delhi, May 12: The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought response from the CBI on a bail plea of controversial Uttar Pradesh politician D P Yadav, convicted and serving life sentence in a murder case of a lawmaker. 

Yadav, currently lodged in Dehrudun jail, has sought bail on medical grounds. He was awarded life imprisonment by a CBI court in Dehradun in 2015 for his role in the murder of Mahendra Singh Bhati, an MLA from Ghaziabad’s Dadri area. 

The lawmaker was shot dead at Dadri railway crossing in December 1992.

A bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao, S Abdul Nazeer and Sanjiv Khanna issued notice to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and sought its response on the plea of Yadav by next week, PTI reported. 

Advocate Vikram Chaudhary, appearing for Yadav said that his client was earlier granted interim bail to undergo a spinal surgery at the Yashoda Super speciality Hospital in Ghaziabad and later surrendered after the spinal operation as per the order of the top court. He said that in his fresh plea, Yadav has pointed out that he was facing some post-operative complications and even jail authorities have suggested for his treatment at All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS). 

The bench said it would like to hear the CBI on the plea and issued notice.  

On October 23, 2018, the top court had directed Yadav to surrender and go back to jail in Dehradun to serve the remainder term of his life sentence. The apex court had taken note of the medical report of the Hospital at Ghaziabad that Yadav had undergone a spinal surgery on October 19 and was likely to be released from the hospital on November 3, 2018.  

The court took note of the report and directed that Yadav can remain with his family for two weeks and then will have to go back to the jail to serve the remainder of the sentence. It also disposed of Yadav’s appeal which was filed challenging the Uttarakhand High Court’s order declining his plea for interim bail to undergo the surgery. 

Yadav, whose appeal in the Uttarakhand High Court against the 2015 trial court verdict is pending, had moved the top court for grant of bail for undergoing the surgery.  The high court, on June 14, 2018, had rejected the bail plea of Yadav. 

The apex court, on September 18, 2018, had granted interim bail for 15 days to Yadav on a condition that he will get himself admitted as in-patient in Yashoda Superspecialty Hospital for the requisite pre-operative checks. It had also asked him to deposit a bail bond of Rs 1 crore and two sureties of like amount for getting the interim bail.  

Besides Yadav, the trial court had also convicted Pal Singh, Karan Yadav and Praneet Bhati for offences of murder, attempt to murder and criminal conspiracy of the IPC in the murder case.  

The case was transferred to the CBI court in Dehradun in 2000 on the direction of the Supreme Court after doubts were expressed about a fair trial in the case in Uttar Pradesh where Yadav was an influential politician. — PTI