Mitali Palnitkar
Published On: February 08, 2022 at 18:25 IST
A Suspected Maoist, Sathya Mary alias Padma, was granted Bail by the Madras High Court subject to the condition that she shall file a sworn Affidavit in Tamil owing faith and allegiance to the Constitution. She shall also state that she does not believe in the ideology of Maoism.
The Division Bench comprised of Justices PN Prakash and R Hemalatha. It granted Bail to Mary on health grounds and asked her to file the Affidavit. It also directed her to execute a bond of Rs 25,000 with two sureties for a similar sum to the satisfaction of the Special Court, Poonnamalee.
In 2003, Mary was booked under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Arms Act, 1959 and the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), 2002 for serious Offences like attempt to Murder. In 2005, she got enlarged on Conditional Bail but she violated the Bail conditions and Absconded in 2009, due to which her Bail Order got cancelled in 2017.
On December 7, 2018, Mary surrendered before the Special Court and got remanded in Judicial Custody. Later, a Bail Application was filed by her on health grounds, which was rejected by the Special Court in August 2021. Thereafter, she filed an Appeal before the High Court.
The High Court Bench noted, “The Appellant is Accused of being a Maoist, wedded to violence, as a means to bring about a political change. Now the question is, if the Appellant continues to believe in this ideology, would it be appropriate for this Court to release her on Bail and allow her to unleash violence on the instrumentalities of the State.”
The Bench directed Mary to file the sworn Affidavit. Also, it granted liberty to the Special Court to cancel Mary’s Bail and remand her in Judicial Custody in case she adopted dilatory tactics during the Trial.
The Bench further stated, “Though Bail has been granted by this Court, as held by the Supreme Court in PK Shaji v State of Kerala (2005), the Special Court can cancel the Bail, if situation warrants. If the Appellant Absconds, a fresh FIR (First Information Report) shall be registered against her under Section 229-A IPC.”