India’s Supreme Court has accepted a petition seeking cancellation of bail for a legislator a week after he was jailed for murdering a Christian in Orissa.

The court yesterday ordered a notice to be sent to Orissa state asking for an explanation on why bail for Manoj Pradhan should not be cancelled, ucanews.com reports.

The Orissa High Court released Pradhan and his accomplice Praful Malik on bail on July 7 on condition that Pradhan would not tamper with evidence in other cases against him.

Pradhan, a member of the state legislative house, was sentenced to seven years’ jail on June 29 for killing Parikhit Nayak on Aug. 27, 2008 in Kandhamal district, the epicenter of anti-Christian violence then.

Kanaka Rekha Nayak, the murdered man’s widow, challenged the bail in India’s highest court. She told ucanews.com that the seven-year jail term itself was inadequate compared to her husband’s suffering and death.

However, Pradhan is now in jail after a court sentenced him on Sept. 9 to six years of rigorous imprisonment for the murder another person, Bikram Nayak, from Tiangia village. The murder was committed on Aug. 26, 2008.

The Supreme Court accepting the petition to cancel the bail itself “shows that there is merit in the case. We are sure the bail will be canceled,” said Ritu Singh, a lawyer associated with the case.

Singh said “no one should escape law because of political clout.” Cancellation of bail is necessary to build up people’s confidence in the judicial system, she said.
Pradhan has now been convicted in two murder cases and acquitted in seven others relating to arson and rioting. Three more cases are pending against him.

ORISSA,  (ucanews.com):