JMM bribery trial will not be stayed: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Tuesday made it clear that it would not stay the trial of former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao and others in the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha bribery case.

The clarification came from a three-judge bench comprising Justices M K Mukherjee, S P Kurdukar and K T Thomas when the court resumed the hearing of special leave petitions by Rao and eight others.

The petitions are directed against Delhi high court orders upholding the decision of a special court to frame charges against them for various offences, including criminal conspiracy and bribery.

When senior counsel P P Rao, appearing for the former prime minister, said he needed sufficient time to put forth arguments on the questions of law involved, the judges said if a decision could not be taken by the court for one reason or other by November 3, then trial would proceed along with the hearing in the apex court.

The counsel argued that Article 105 (2) of the Constitution granted immunity to members of Parliament for their conduct inside the House.

Besides Narasimha Rao, others who filed special leave petitions include former Haryana chief minister Bhajan Lal, Raja Abhay Pratap Singh, MP, former Karnataka chief minister M Veerappa Moily, M Thimme Gowda, former Union minister Satish Sharma and H M Revanna.

The hearing will be resumed when the court reopens after the Diwali vacation in November.

UNI

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