The Allahabad High Court has rejected the second bail petitions filed by former Bahujan Samaj Party parliamentarian Kapil Muni Karwariya, his brother and former legislator Surya Bhan Karwariya, and co-convict Ramchandra Tripathi, all serving life sentences for the 1996 assassination of Samajwadi Party lawmaker Jawahar Yadav.
A division bench comprising Justice Salil Kumar Rai and Justice Arun Kumar Singh Deshwal held that the applicants could not secure bail merely on the grounds of prolonged imprisonment, noting that the defence had actively avoided arguing the substantive merits of their pending appeals.
Court Rejects Delay Grounds
In their applications, the three convicts had contended that they were entitled to bail due to the length of their detention, arguing that their criminal appeals had remained pending without a hearing for more than two years.
Rejecting this contention in its October 5 order, the high court pointed out that since May 2023, the bench had repeatedly called upon the appellants’ legal counsel to present final arguments on the main appeals. However, the defence routinely sought adjournments while continuing to press for temporary bail orders. The judges determined that the severity of the crime, coupled with the appellants’ deliberate conduct in avoiding a final hearing, disqualified them from securing relief based solely on incarceration time.
The order marks the second time the high court has turned down bail for the trio, following an initial rejection on May 9, 2023. A third brother, former Member of the Legislative Assembly Uday Bhan Karwariya, who was also handed a life term in the case, did not join the bail application because his sentence was recently commuted by the Uttar Pradesh government.
Background of the 1996 Attack
The underlying case dates back to August 13, 1996, when Jawahar Yadav, also known as Jawahar Pandit, was shot dead in broad daylight in the Civil Lines area of Prayagraj. Assailants ambushed the then-sitting Samajwadi Party legislator using an AK-47 assault rifle.
Following the investigation and subsequent trial, a lower court in 2019 convicted the Karwariya brothers along with their co-accused, sentencing them to life imprisonment.
