CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court has rejected the criminal appeal of Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda against his conviction and life imprisonment sentence for waging war against the nation by a court on grounds that it has been pending for nearly five years now.
Panda had filed the writ petition (criminal) in 2019 seeking direction for his production for purpose of release on grounds of violation of his fundamental right to life and liberty as he has been in custody for nine years as an under-trial prisoner.
The pending appeal formed the basis of a division bench’s ruling that continuation of the Maoist leader in custody as an under-trial prisoner for past nine years cannot be held as a case of infringement of fundamental right to life and liberty. “Where petitioner is in custody as an under-trial and a convict, it cannot be said that thereby his fundamental right to life and liberty has been infringed, to persuade us to exercise discretion in directing his production for purpose of release,” the division bench of Justice Arindam Sinha and Justice M S Sahoo ruled on April 3.
The bench gave the ruling after ascertaining that Panda had filed the criminal appeal in high court after a court in Ganjam had in that case sentenced him to life imprisonment for waging a war against the nation in 2019. The Maoist leader has been in custody for nine years as an under-trial in 131 cases, while he has been acquitted in 89 cases. This was cited by Panda’s counsel BS Rayaguru as the circumstances of violation of his fundamental right to life and liberty.
However, the bench disposed of the habeas corpus petition with a direction to the Registry to forthwith change its nomenclature from the writ petition (criminal) to criminal miscellaneous petition (CRLMP) and place it before the bench assigned for petitions of such category.