Less than a fortnight before the Lok Sabha by-poll to the Madhepura constituency, the Supreme Court on Friday sent Rashtriya Janata Dal candidate Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav to Beur Jail in Patna after staying the bail granted to him by the Patna high court in the Ajit Sarkar murder case.

Taking note of submissions by senior advocate Raju Ramachandran appearing for Sarkar's younger brother Kalyan, a bench comprising Justice N Santosh Hegde and Justice S B Sinha directed Yadav to surrender before the authorities forthwith and directed them to lodge him in Beur Jail.

The CBI, which supported the petitioner, said through Additional Solicitor General Amarendra Saran that it would soon file an appeal against the high court order.

The apex court had on two occasions cancelled the bail granted to Yadav by the high court in the same case and had refused bail to him on four occasions after Kalyan had alleged that he was threatening the witnesses.

The court had also taken serious exception to the manner in which Yadav had misused facilities at Patna Medical College Hospital when he was lodged there in judicial custody after his bail was cancelled on March 3. It had also taken exception to the way he was found campaigning in Madhepura during the general elections in May this year despite being in custody.

Recalling these incidents, the bench said, "The high court seems to have overlooked the directions of the apex Court while granting bail to the accused."

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