Gauhati High Court grants pre-arrest bail to Naga Club members in NSF office demolition case

KOHIMA— The Gauhati High Court, Kohima Bench on Monday granted pre-arrest bail to members of the Naga Club involved in the Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) office demolition case and disposed of the bail application.

Hearing the anticipatory bail plea filed by six members of the Naga Club, Justice Kakheto Sema, stated that the offence charged against the applicants is not heinous in nature, which is punishable with imprisonment for life or death.

As directed by the court in its last order on May 29, the applicants appeared before the Investigating Officer (IO) and cooperated with the investigation by giving their statements. The public prosecutor also produced the case diary as directed.

In this regard, the court, upon consideration of the facts and circumstances of the case, is inclined to grant absolute pre-arrest bail to the applicants on the following terms that “the applicant shall make himself available before the Officer-in-Charge, North Police Station, Kohima and/or the Investigation Officer of the case as and when summoned”.

The applicant should not tamper with the evidence of the IO or the prosecution witness in any manner whatsoever, it added.

The court further directed the applicant not to indulge in the commission of the offence with which he is charged and that violation of its terms and conditions laid would lead to automatic cancellation of the bail.

All other conditions imposed by the Court in its order on May 29 will continue to bind the applicant, the court stated and disposed of the application.  

When the matter was taken up for hearing on Monday, the public prosecutor (for the state government) said that the investigation is at an early stage and still on. He added that 13 additional applicants (other than the 6 bail applicants), who are members of the Naga Club, are to be summoned to the investigating agency on June 6 for their statements. In this regard, he prayed not to grant bail.

The prosecutor added that three persons have already been arrested in connection with the demolition of the NSF office in the Naga Club building. However, the six members of the Naga Club (anticipatory bail plea applicants) had ‘admitted to the crime’.

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