The Supreme Court asked Andhra Pradesh if it can set up special courts for speedy trials of Maoist leader Duna Keshav Rao. Odisha has already decided to establish special courts soon.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India has asked the Andhra Pradesh government to inform it whether it can also set up special courts for conducting speedy trials against jailed Maoist leader Duna Keshav Rao, also known as Azad, who had surrendered back in 2011.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh was hearing the matter. During the hearing, the counsel representing the Odisha government told the bench that after holding discussions with the Chief Justice of the Odisha High Court, it was decided that special courts would be established in three districts to conduct the trial of Duna Keshav Rao.
The counsel added that a notification regarding this would probably be issued within the next two weeks.
Hearing this, the counsel for the Andhra Pradesh government intervened and informed the court that more than a dozen cases, mostly related to charges of murder, were still pending against Rao in Andhra Pradesh.
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At this point, the bench told the counsel for Andhra Pradesh,
“Why don’t you also do the same thing like the Odisha government? Consider setting up special courts for a speedy trial in these cases.”
Advocate Mohammad Irshad Hanif, appearing for Duna Keshav Rao, argued before the court that the Andhra Pradesh Police had not even arrested Rao in many of these cases which were now being highlighted.
Duna Keshav Rao, once feared as one of the most dangerous Maoist commanders operating in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, was a member of the CPI Orissa State Organising Committee. He had surrendered before the Hyderabad Police on May 18, 2011.
Later, Rao approached the Supreme Court with a complaint that he was being implicated in false cases repeatedly. He said that both the Odisha and Andhra Pradesh governments had earlier given him an assurance that he would be allowed to live a normal life and become part of mainstream society after his surrender.
The Odisha government had earlier informed the Supreme Court that Rao had been acquitted in 10 cases, but there were still 37 cases pending against him.
On December 20, 2024, the Supreme Court had issued a notice based on Rao’s plea and sought responses from both the Andhra Pradesh and Odisha governments.
After that, the Odisha Police took Rao into custody. Rao claimed that this act was a betrayal of trust and faith by the Andhra Pradesh government, as he had surrendered under the state’s rehabilitation policy.
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In his plea before the Supreme Court, Rao said,
“The petitioner surrendered to the government of Andhra Pradesh with the hope that he would be allowed to lead a normal life by joining the mainstream of the society. His dreams were completely shattered when he was brought to Odisha on the pretext of a formal enquiry and booked in a number of false cases. The petitioner is being booked in false cases on periodic intervals, with the sole intention to keep the petitioner in jail for an indefinite period.”
Rao requested the Supreme Court to direct both the state governments to complete the trial of all pending cases against him in a fixed time frame, preferably within six months. He also asked the Court to transfer all the criminal cases to one single court, preferably in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, to ensure a smooth and effective trial process.
Rao also told the court that the Odisha government had registered 14 more criminal cases against him last year, saying this was “a classic example of abuse of process as well as a flagrant infringement of the fundamental rights of a citizen.”
In his plea, he further stated,
“Respondent No.2 i.e. the state of Andhra Pradesh to whom the petitioner had surrendered breached the faith and trust of the petitioner by handing him over to respondent no.1 i.e. the state of Odisha without … warrant and without producing before the local magistrate.”
He added,
“The state of Andhra Pradesh gave a free hand to implicate the petitioner in a number of false criminal cases. Respondent No.2 i.e. the state of Andhra Pradesh failed to keep its promise and further failed to monitor the trials of the petitioner ensuring the fairness of trials and also ensuring that the petitioner is not further booked in false cases.”
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Rao also pointed out in his petition that after surrendering, the Andhra Pradesh government had given him a reward of ₹10 lakh as an incentive. However, he said he had no idea that he would end up spending more than 14 years in custody.
He submitted,
“The petitioner was framed in various cases by the Odisha Police completely on fake narratives. Needless to mention herein that the very motive and purpose of the government initiatives of the LWE surrender-cum-rehabilitation policy seems to be getting failed when people like the petitioner are subjected to false cases and remain in jail for an indefinite period, which is sending a wrong message to the misguided youths who have been contemplating to abjure violence.”
The matter remains pending before the Supreme Court as it awaits the responses from the concerned state governments, especially regarding the setting up of special courts to expedite the trials.
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