New Delhi, June 7 (IANS) The Delhi High Court Monday extended bail granted to a former deputy speaker of the Manipur legislative assembly by one month in a case of alleged unlawful activities to allow him visit his riot-hit constituency.
Justice Siddharth Mridul granted bail to Thounaojam Shyamkumar Singh on furnishing a personal and surety bonds of Rs.50,000 each.
Singh was arrested in October 2006 at Indira Gandhi International Airport here and was accused of being a member of Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL) and working as a liaison between KYKL and the banned United National Liberation Front.
Singh was booked under various penal provisions dealing with unlawful activities and criminal conspiracy, apart from sections of the Official Secrets Act.
Singh in his bail application pleaded that as a member of the legislative assembly he should be in Manipur where riots have erupted, killing many people, in the wake of the ban imposed by the government on Naga separatist leader Thuingaleng Muivah’s visit to his native village in the state.
‘There is a civil war like situation in the Manipur. There have been fresh instances of violence over the Naga leader’s proposed visit to Manipur and seven Naga legislators in Manipur have resigned protesting against the government decision,’ Singh said.
‘There is political unrest in Manipur because of the violence. I, being a sitting member of the Manipur assembly, am required to be among the people of my constituency where huge public property has been damaged and some people have died,’ his petition said.
Agreeing to Singh’s contention, the court said: ‘The petitioner being a member of the Manipur assembly, has the constitutional duty to be among his constituents at a time when the state and his constituency is plagued by riots. It would go a long way if the petitioner as legislator assists the government and the administration in normalizing the situation.’
‘Therefore, it is deemed appropriate that the petitioner be released on bail for a period of one month,’ the court said.
