Telangana HC grants bail to Maoist leader Amitabh Bagchi after 16 years
HYDERABAD: The Telangana high court has granted bail to Amitabh Bagchi, a politburo member of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), bringing to an end 16 years of incarceration.
Bagchi, 74, was arrested by Karimnagar police in 2010 in connection with a 2008 case. He walked out of Cherlapally Central Prison on February 27.
Justice Juvvadi Sridevi, while allowing the bail plea, observed that a court becomes functus officio once it disposes of a bail application. Under Section 362 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), a sessions court cannot review or alter its own order.
Setting aside the sessions judge’s order cancelling bail, Justice Sridevi held that bail cannot be revoked by the same court unless “supervening circumstances” arise, such as violation of conditions or misuse of liberty.
The high court termed the lower court’s reversal of bail as “mechanical”. It noted that the gravity of the offence and the accused’s past history were already known when bail was originally granted.
Case pending trial in Karimnagar sessions court
Recently surrendered senior Maoist leader Malla Raji Reddy alias Sangram was named A1 in the case. Bagchi was arrayed as A28 alongside several other central committee and politburo members, including former Maoist supremo Muppala Lakshman Rao alias Ganapathi and slain leader Kishenji.
The case is pending trial before a sessions court in Karimnagar.
The judge clarified that if the prosecution is aggrieved by a bail order, the proper course is to approach a superior court rather than seek a review before the same judge on identical facts. Emphasising that seriousness of allegations alone cannot justify revoking liberty, the court termed the cancellation an “illegality and material irregularity”.
Although a sessions court granted Bagchi default bail in 2010, he remained in custody as he could not furnish sureties. After the charge sheet was filed, he sought regular bail and was granted relief by the sessions court in 2024. However, before he could furnish sureties, police challenged the order and the bail was cancelled.
Bagchi then moved the high court challenging the cancellation. His counsel, B Nalin Kumar, argued that the sessions judge cancelled bail without any new circumstances or violations, particularly when the petitioner was in judicial custody.
State cites life sentence in separate cases
The state counsel opposed the plea, contending that the accused operated on a pan-India scale and, if released, was likely to rejoin the Maoist organisation and evade trial. The state further argued that, as a senior member, he posed a threat to witnesses and was likely to tamper with evidence.
Urging dismissal of the petition, the state informed the bench that Bagchi had already been sentenced to life imprisonment and an additional eight years in two separate cases investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Chhattisgarh police.
