Wife of IAS officer G Krishnaiah moves SC against Anand Mohan's release

Mohan was released from Saharsa jail on Thursday morning following an amendment in Bihar's prison rules

The wife of IAS officer G Krishnaiah, who was lynched in 1994 by a mob led by former Bihar MP Anand Mohan, has approached the Supreme Court against the premature release of the politician, contending that the decision was against public policy and the idea of a welfare state, besides resulting into demoralisation of the civil servants in the State.

Her plea contended the Bihar government has specially brought about an amendment on April 10, 2023, to the Bihar Prison Manual with retrospective effect, in order to ensure that the convict Mohan be granted the benefit of remission.

"The said amendment of April 10, 2023, is against the notification of December 10, 2002, as well as against the public policy and has resulted in the demoralisation of the Civil Servants in the state," it said.

The plea by Uma Krishnaiah, the wife of Krishnaiah, also stated that life imprisonment, when awarded as a substitute for the death penalty, has to be carried out strictly as directed by the court and it would be beyond the application of remission.

"The convict here is a politically influential person and has committed the murder of a serving IAS Officer, while himself being an MLA. He enjoys political support and has several criminal cases pending against him," it also claimed.

The plea also said the grant of remission to Mohan is in contravention of the notification of December 10, 2002, which was applicable on the date of conviction i.e. On October 5, 2007.

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"Therefore, order dated 24.04.2023 by the State of Bihar is violation of notification dated 10.12.2002 as well as in contravention of judgments of the apex court," it said.

The plea submitted that life imprisonment handed down to the gangster-turned- politician meant incarceration for his entire natural course of life as in his case, he was awarded death penalty on October 5, 2007, by the trial court which was commuted to rigorous life imprisonment by the Patna High Court on December 10, 2008 and confirmed by the Supreme Court on July 10, 2012.

Mohan was released from Saharsa jail on Thursday morning.

In the writ petition, the wife of slain officer also pointed out the apex court has consistently held that the rules of remission applicable at the time of conviction must be considered for deciding the application of pre-mature release. Thus, the rules as applicable at the time of the petitioner’s conviction in 2007 would be applicable for considering his application for remission.

Her plea also referred to Rule 481(1)(c) of Bihar Prison Manual, 2012, which provided that convicts whose death sentence has been commuted to life sentence will be eligible for consideration of remission only after completion of 20 years of the sentence.

"In the present case, Mohan has served only 14 years of incarceration and therefore, he is not eligible to be considered for remission as per rule," it said.

In 1994, Krishnaiah, who hailed from Telangana, was beaten to death by a mob when his vehicle tried to overtake the funeral procession of gangster Chhotan Shukla in Muzaffarpur district.