SC declines to cancel bail of an accused in tailor Kanhaiya Lal murder case
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to interfere with a Rajasthan High Court order granting bail to one of the accused in the Kanhaiya Lal murder case.
Kanhaiya Lal, a tailor from Rajasthan’s Udaipur, was brutally murdered in broad daylight in June 2022, allegedly by Mohammad Riyaz Attari and Ghaus Mohammad, a gruesome crime that sent shockwaves across the country.
A bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and Satish Chandra Sharma dismissed the special leave petitions (SLPs) filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Yash Teli, the son of the slain tailor Kanhaiya Lal, challenging the Rajasthan High Court order granting bail to the accused Mohammed Javed.
The SLP filed by the deceased’s son said that he was “constrained to approach the Supreme Court” as the Rajasthan High Court, on September 5, 2024, “without properly looking into the facts and circumstances of the case and without properly considering the requirement of Section 43D(5) of UAPA, erroneously allowed the bail application filed by the respondent (Mohammed Javed)”.
The plea added that Javed allegedly played a pivotal role in orchestrating the crime. “He was in contact with the main accused prior to the incident and provided information about the deceased’s whereabouts to aid in carrying out the act,” stated the petition, citing witness statements under Section 164 CrPC and call records showing coordination on the day of the killing.
It further argued that the Rajasthan High Court failed to apply the stringent bail restrictions under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). “The Hon’ble High Court has erroneously conducted a mini-trial and questioned the authenticity of the documents relied upon by the Special Judge, Jaipur,” the plea stated.
In November last year, the Supreme Court had agreed to examine the matter and issued notices to the anti-terror agency and the accused, Mohammed Javed.