Gauhati HC clears ex-Assam CM Prafulla Kumar Mahanta of 'secret killings' charges

The HC observed that the petitioners had failed to provide substantial evidence to back their claims.

Former Assam Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta was cleared of charges of 'secret killings' with the Gauhati High Court dismissing the interlocutory application (civil) filed in this connection. Hearing the application, the division bench of Chief Justice Sandeep Mehta observed on Monday that the petitioners have failed to provide substantial proof in support of their claims.

The interlocutory application was filed by Rajya Sabha MP Ajit Kumar Bhuyan and Ananta Kalita challenging the Court's order of September 3, 2018 which had held the inquiry commission indicting Mahanta of ‘secret killings’ during his second term in office (1996 -2001) as invalid.

The bench, which also included Justice Mitali Thakuria, also said that the allegations levelled against Mahanta were a part of conspiracy by some political and non-political parties of Assam to malign his public image.

Dismissing the application, it observed that the petitioners had filed the interlocutory application 531 days after the High Court's earlier verdict and even then failed to convincingly appeal the gross delay in filing it.

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They also made ''inconsistent and contradictory pleadings in the three affidavits,'' the judges observed. ''The application for condonation of delay is not based on bonafide assertions and grounds and hence, the same does not merit acceptance and as a consequence, the plea is dismissed,'' the judges observed. The bench said that the applicant's plea that they were not aware of the verdict is ''absolutely false and thus unacceptable'' as the verdict was extensively covered by the media.

As the prayer for condonation of delay has been refused, the writ appeal, which is yet to be numbered, would fail automatically, it said.

In September 2018, the Gauhati High Court had held that the constitution of the inquiry commission under Justice (Retd) K N Saikia in 2005 by the then Congress government to inquire into the killings of relatives of ULFA militants by unknown persons between 1998-2001, which was termed as 'secret killings', was invalid. The commission had submitted its report in 2007 and had indicted Mahanta and the union home ministry for the killings.

Mahanta had moved the HC challenging the legality and validity of the constitution of the commission and the court had subsequently ruled in his favour. Kalita and Bhuyan had moved the high court in 2021 challenging the High Court's order declaring the constitution of the Commission as invalid which was dismissed on Monday. Mahanta later said that at last justice has prevailed and the court's judgement has reaffirmed his faith in the judiciary.