Three CPI-M Leaders Surrender to Court Following Supreme Court Orders, Imprisoned
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Synopsis
Three CPI-M leaders from South Tripura surrendered to a local court after being convicted for a 2015 incident involving a judge's assault. They were sent to jail as per Supreme Court directives, with the next hearing scheduled for March 18.
Key Takeaways
- Three CPI-M leaders surrendered after conviction.
- The incident occurred during a nationwide strike in 2015.
- Supreme Court directed their surrender.
- Next hearing set for March 18.
- Leaders are appealing their conviction.
Agartala, March 2 (NationPress) Three leaders of the CPI-M, who faced charges and were convicted for the assault on a judge in South Tripura during a nationwide strike in September 2015, have turned themselves in to a local court and are now incarcerated, according to a defence attorney on Sunday.
The defence attorney indicated that in compliance with the Supreme Court's directives, the trio - Tapas Datta, Trilokesh Sinha, and Babul Debnath - presented themselves to a local court in Belonia, located in South Tripura, on Saturday afternoon, which led to their imprisonment.
The subsequent hearing in this matter at the apex court is scheduled for March 18, as informed by the lawyer to the media.
Datta serves as the CPI-M’s district secretary for South Tripura, while Debnath leads the All India Kishan Sabha, and Sinha is affiliated with the CPI-M's trade union organization, CITU.
Following the incident on September 2, 2015, a suo-moto case was initiated by the police, leading to an investigation. Subsequently, charge sheets were filed against these notable CPI-M figures.
A first-class judicial magistrate convicted and sentenced the Left leaders to imprisonment in 2022. They then filed a review petition in the South Tripura District and Sessions Court, which upheld the trial court’s ruling in May 2023.
The trio subsequently approached the Tripura High Court in July of last year; however, the court reaffirmed the district and sessions court’s ruling, imposing a two-year rigorous imprisonment for creating disturbances in a courtroom and disrespecting a judge. They later appealed to the Supreme Court, which instructed them to surrender to the trial court first before hearing their case. Their lawyers contended across all courts that the CPI-M leaders were innocent.
