PUCL leader sent to jail in contempt of court case

Jabalpur, May 25 (UNI) The Madhya Pradesh High Court today sent Peoples Union for Civil Liberties's (PUCL) Chhattisgarh unit President Rajendra Sail to jail in a contempt of court case for criticising the High Court ruling acquitting all the accused in the trade union leader Shankar Guha Niyogi murder case.

Mr Sail was convicted by the Supreme Court under the Contempt of Court Act, 1971, after he was found guilty of contempt of the High Court.

According to the case, some industrialists hatched up a conspiracy and Niyogi was killed. A trial court in Durg gave six persons, including two industrialists, life sentence, while main accused Paltan Mallah was sentenced to death.

In 1998, following an appeal in the High Court by the accused, a division bench consisting Justice S K Dubey and Justice Prabhu Shukla acquitted all the accused.

Mr Sail criticised the High Court ruling in several public meetings. A English newspaper daily from Nagpur published the contents of his speech.

A contempt of court petition was filed in the High Court against Mr Sail, the newspaper's managing editor, editor and its Chhattisgarh Bureau chief by M P Bar Association in 1998 and the clippings of the newspaper were presented as evidence.

The High Court sentenced Mr Sail, the newspaper's managing editor and editor to six months' imprisonment and fined them Rs 5,000 each, while acquitting its Chhattisgarh Bureau chief.

The newspaper's managing editor and editor appealed against the verdict in the Supreme Court and tendered unconditional apology.

However, Mr Sail refused to tender unconditional apology.

In 2002, the Supreme Court found Mr Sail guilty of contempt of court but sentenced him to seven day's imprisonment in view of his public services. The apex court accepted the unconditional apology of other accused and acquitted them.

On March 12, the Supreme Court directed the High Court Registrar General to issue a warrant against Mr Sail and send him to jail for seven days.

Mr Sail was arrested by Chhattisgarh police in Raipur yesterday and was presented before the High Court today.

UNI