NIA Court Grants Permission To Jailed Anti- CAA Activist Akhil Gogoi To Take Oath As Legislator of Assam Assembly

What Is The Case

● On Tuesday, a special NIA court granted Akhil Gogoi, a jailed anti-CAA activist who is the first Assamese to win an election from behind bars, permission to take oath as a legislator in the Assam Assembly.

● After hearing Gogoi's petition, Special NIA Judge Pranjal Das granted him permission to take his oath as a legislator at the Assam Assembly complex.

● "It isn't a bail bond. Gogoi has been given permission to only attend the inauguration ceremony. He'll have to go back into judicial custody "Santanu Borthakur, Gogoi's lawyer, told PTI here. In the recently concluded Assam Assembly elections, Gogoi defeated BJP's Surabhi Rajkonwari by a margin of 11,875 votes in the Sibsagar seat.

Details

● He was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on alleged sedition and terror charges. Gogoi, who ran as an Independent, made history by becoming the first Assamese to win an election while incarcerated.

● His victory has been dubbed the "most impressive" after that of former union minister George Fernandes, who won the 1977 Lok Sabha election from Muzaffarpur in Bihar by over three lakh votes despite having been imprisoned since June 1976 during the Emergency.

● The Major Dal leader was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in December 2019 for his alleged involvement in violent protests across the state against the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

● Gogoi was admitted to Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) in 2020 for treatment of COVID-19, and he continues to be treated there for other illnesses.

● By rejecting an appeal by the NIA, the Gauhati High Court upheld Gogoi's bail order issued by a Special NIA Court on April 14.

● It had stated that any act aimed at causing civil unrest would not be covered by the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 unless it was done with the required intent. Gogoi remains in judicial custody after being denied bail in another case involving anti-CAA violence that the NIA is investigating.

What do you think about this?