Telangana High Court Justice K. Surendra on Monday stayed till December 13 the notice issued by the SIT to Jaggu Kotilil alias Jaggu Swami of Kerala’s Kochi under Section 41A of the Criminal Procedure Code.
The judge also extended till December 13 the stay order already issued in a writ petition filed by BL Santhosh, national general secretary of BJP, facing charges in the same case.
Senior advocate V. Pattabhi, appearing for Jaggu Swamy, argued that the notice given to his client suggested his possible arrest and thus the purpose of issuing the notice was to take away his personal liberty.
Noting that the notice served under Section 41A of Cr.PC to Jaggu Swamy was in the format prescribed by the Delhi High Court, the counsel submitted that such format was for police stations in Delhi. He argued that there is no need to compulsorily follow the same format for all.
Advocate General BS Prasad, appearing for the State, submitted that the notice format adopted by the SIT was prepared by the Delhi High Court. He told the bench that after this the Madras High Court came and the Supreme Court in one of its judgments mentioned it.
Urging the bench not to grant any immunity from arrest to Jaggu Swami, the AG argued that a notice issued to an accused need not contain all the details of the case. Let the person appear before the SIT and answer the questions raised by the authorities. Mr. Prasad argued that further delay in the appearance of the accused before the SIT officers could impact the ongoing investigation.
Senior advocate Desai Prakash Reddy, appearing for BL Santhosh, who has filed a writ petition seeking quashing of the case relating to the attempted poaching of MLAs, sought adjournment of the arguments citing personal work. The judge extended the order till December 13, staying the notice issued by the SIT to Mr Santosh.