SC protects Akhil Gogoi from arrest in NIA case related to anti-CAA agitation

The Supreme Court has granted independent Assam MLA Akhil Gogoi protection from arrest in connection with a case related to antiCAA protests and suspected Maoist links and sought response from the National Investigation Agency NIA on his pleaThe lawmaker who has allegedly been vocal against the Central government during the antiCitizenship Amendment Act protests moved the top court against the February 9 order of the Gauhati High Court allowing the special NIA court in Assam to proceed with the framing of charges against him in one of the two casesLet notice be served on the standing counsel for the State NIA for the limited purpose of considering the grant of protection to the petitioner from arrest pursuant to the impugned order returnable on February 24 2023In the meantime the petitioner Gogoi shall be protected against arrest in connection with FIR bearing dated December 14 2019 Police Station NIA Guwahati a bench of justices V Ramasubramanian and Pankaj Mithal ordered on Tuesday after hearing arguments from senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi appearing for the lawmakerEarlier the high court had permitted the NIA to seek framing of charges in the special court against Gogoi and three of his associates in connection with antiCAA protests and suspected Maoist links The high courts order had come on an appeal of the NIA challenging the order of a special NIA court giving clean chit to the fourA high court division bench comprising Justices Suman Shyam and Malasri Nandi had asked the agency to go ahead with framing charges after reopening the caseThe high court has accepted NIAs plea to reopen the case and frame charges against the four persons The case will be heard again in the Special NIA Court Gogois counsel Santanu Borthakur had said The MLA has come to the apex court against the orderThe other three accused were Dhaijya Konwar Bittu Sonowal and Manash Konwar all of whom got bail in the NIA case and were released from the jailGogoi was the only one whose bail was rejected by the court and he was released after spending 567 days in jail once Special NIA Judge Pranjal Das cleared him along with the three others of all chargesAlso read Wont allow bandh no question of division of Bengal Mamata Banerjee on shutdown call by proGorkhaland partiesThe Assam legislator and three others have been asked to appear before the special NIA court on February 23 The NIA is investigating two cases against Gogoi related to antiCAA protests In one of those the special NIA court had granted him bail which was upheld by the Gauhati High Court too in April 2021 after the probe agency challenged itThe RTI activist continued to be in judicial custody as he was rejected bail in the second case related to antiCAA violence and was being investigated by the NIALater the special NIA court on July 1 2021 released Gogoi and his three associates for their alleged role in the violent antiCitizenship Amendment Act stir in the state in December 2019 and observed there was nothing to indicate that the talk of blockade threatened the countrys economic security or was a terrorist actThe NIA then moved the Gauhati High Court appealing it to allow the agency to frame charges under various sections including sedition of the IPC and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act 1967In a strongly worded judgement the special NIA court had said that in the interests of justice it found the conduct and approach of the investigating authority in the case to be discouraging to say the leastThe court has high expectations from a premier investigating agency like the NIA entrusted with the profoundly important task of protecting our country and us citizens from the menace of terrorismThe court hopes and expects that such high standards will be upheld for the sake of the country and this one will be just an exception the special NIA court had said in the orderThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever