The Supreme Court
had recently said that ordering a politician to refrain from taking part in
political activities as a condition for the grant of bail would be a violation
of fundamental rights.
A bench of
Justices BR Gavai and Sandeep Mehta set aside a bail condition imposed by the
Orissa High Court to the extent that it barred a politician from political
activities.
The bench, in its
order on March 22, stated, "We find that the imposition of such conditions
would breach the fundamental rights of the appellant and no such conditions
could have been imposed. We, therefore, quash and set aside the condition
imposed by the High Court, to the extent the same is extracted above.
Accordingly, the appeals are allowed."
The order of the
apex court came on a petition filed by Odisha Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
leader and former Berhampur mayor Siba Shankar Das, who was earlier part of the
Biju Janata Dal (BJD) party and some criminal cases were allegedly filed
against him after he switched parties.
Das, who was
elected as Mayor of Berhampur Municipal Corporation, challenged the Orissa High
Court's order of January 18, 2024, which rejected his application for
withdrawal of such a condition imposed in the order of bail passed on August
11, 2022.
By August 11,
2022, the High Court, while granting him bail, directed that he shall not
create any untoward situation in public and shall not be involved in any
political activities, directly or indirectly.
The High Court, in
its order, on January 24, said that it would be unjustified to modify the
condition of the bail permitting him to take part in political activities as he
faced 57 criminal cases and a murderous attack by a bomb in October 2023.