Legal Issues In The Release Of Anand Mohan 

WHO IS ANAND MOHAN SINGH? 

Anand Mohan, also popularly known as ‘Bahubali‘ Anand Mohan Singh is the grandson of Indian freedom fighter Ram Bahadur Singh Tomar. Hailing from the Kosi region, he is a prominent leader of Rajputs as well as Brahmins. Anand Mohan launched his Samajwadi Kranti Sena in 1980 to support fellow Rajputs along with other upper castes’ causes. He was part of the Janata Dal party but when former congressman VP Singh announced the granting of reservation to OBCs as per the Mandal Commission Report in 1990, he was strictly against it and revolted. He then became the biggest challenge to Lalu Prasad Yadav. Later in 1993, Anand Mohan formed the Bihar People's Party (BPP) which followed a vision of Rajputs versus Yadavs.

WHY WAS HE ARRESTED?

In 1994 during the return from the funeral of Muzaffarpur gangster Chotan Shukla who was killed in a police encounter, Anand Mohan and his men spotted Dalit IAS officer G Krishnaiah. He was the Gopalganj District Magistrate and hailed from present-day Telangana. The 35-year-old civil servant was brutally dragged out of his car and lynched and shot dead by Mohan's men upon his orders. In 2007, Mohan was sentenced to death by the Patna high court for abetment of murder. This made him the first Indian politician to get the death penalty since independence. However, this sentence was reduced to rigorous life imprisonment in 2008 which was later upheld by the Supreme Court in 2012.

WHY WAS HE RELEASED? 

The Bihar law department on 24-4-2023 issued a notification that permitted the release of Anand Mohan and 26 other prisoners. This decision was taken on April 20 at the state sentence remission council meeting where it was held that prisoners who served 14 years of sentence or 20 years with remission would be freed. However, the Bihar home department also modified its jail manual and deleted the phrase “murder of a government servant on duty”. This provided that even Anand Mohan would be a free man now. Subsequently, he was released from Saharsa jail on Thursday morning.

ISSUES RELATING TO THE RELEASE 

The release of Anand Mohan is a grave miscarriage of justice, not only to the victim's family and loved ones but also to the nation as a whole. The amendment to the Bihar prison manual that made it possible for the release of Anand Mohan has been challenged before the Patna high court by a PIL. The Indian Civil and Administrative Service (Central) Association encouraged the Bihar government to reconsider the release as it is a mockery to the public morale and order and led to protests from the family and well-wishers of G Krishnaiah.

What are your opinions regarding the release of Anand Mohan? Is this a decision that dwindles your faith in the existing legal system? Let us know down below in the comments!