New Delhi: The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the state government over four applications filed in the court seeking bail for the five accused arrested by the state police in connection with Swami Laxmananda Saraswati murder case.
A two-judge bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar and Dinesh Maheshwari has issued notice to the state government seeking its response over the bail applications.
Four applications have been filed in the apex court seeking bail for accused Duryodhan Suna Majhi, Munda Bada Majhi, Sanatan Bada Majhi, Budhadev Nayak and Bhaskar Suna Majhi. All the accused are facing charges in connection with the murder of Swami Laxmananda Saraswati in 2008.
Counsel appearing for the accused, Anupradha Singh, submitted in the court that the accused are poor tribals and they don’t have any connection with the murder of Laxmananda Saraswati. They were illegally framed by the police and there is no evidence against the accused persons.
It is to be mentioned here that Saraswati and four of his aides were killed at his ashram at Jalespata in Kandhamal district August 23, 2008. The killing triggered communal violence in the state, in which at least 38 people were killed.
The state police had arrested seven people in the matter and filed a chargesheet against them in 2009. A court in the state had convicted seven people in the murder case in 2013.
The accused challenged the order in the Orissa High Court and out of the seven accused, five have applied for bail.
Advocate Anupradha Singh said that the High Court had rejected the bail application but the petition against the order of the Session Court has not been heard by the High Court.
