Telangana high court grants bail to CPI Maoist politburo member Amitabh Bagchi after 16 years incarceration

HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court recently granted bail to Amitabh Bagchi, a politburo member of the banned CPI (Maoist), ending 16 years of incarceration. Arrested by Karimnagar police in 2010 in connection with a 2008 case, Bagchi walked out of Cherlapally Central Prison on Friday, February 27.

While recently surrendered Maoist leader Malla Raji Reddy, alias Sangram, was named A1 in the case, Bagchi was arrayed as A28 alongside several other central committee members.Justice Juvvadi Sridevi of the high court, while granting bail, observed that a court becomes "functus officio" once it disposes of a bail application, strictly barring it from reviewing or altering its own decision under Section 362 of the CrPC.

Setting aside a Sessions Judge’s order, the court held that bail cannot be cancelled by the same court unless "supervening circumstances" arise, such as a violation of conditions or misuse of liberty.

The High Court characterised the lower court’s reversal of bail as "mechanical" because the primary grounds—the gravity of the offence and the accused’s history—were already known when bail was originally granted.

The Judge clarified that if the prosecution is aggrieved by a bail order, the correct legal procedure is to approach a superior court rather than seeking a review from the same Judge on identical facts. Emphasising that the seriousness of allegations alone cannot justify revoking liberty, the High Court labelled the cancellation an "illegality and material irregularity."Although a sessions court granted Bagchi default bail in 2010, he remained behind bars for years as he could not furnish sureties.

Following the filing of a chargesheet, Bagchi moved a regular bail application and was granted bail by the Sessions Court in 2024. However, before he could furnish sureties, police challenged the order, and his bail was cancelled. Challenging this cancellation, Bagchi moved the High Court.

His counsel, B Nalin Kumar, argued that the Sessions Judge erroneously cancelled the bail without any new circumstances or violations, especially since the petitioner remained in judicial custody at the time.The state counsel countered that the accused operated on a pan-India scale and, if released, was likely to rejoin the Maoist organisation and evade trial. The state further argued that, as a high-ranking member, he posed a threat to witnesses and was likely to tamper with evidence. Urging the court to dismiss the appeal, the state informed the bench that Bagchi was already sentenced to life imprisonment and an additional 8 years in 2 separate cases investigated by the NIA and Chhattisgarh police.