Prayagraj: The Allahabad High Court has rejected the second bail applications of former MP Kapil Muni Karwariya, former MLC Surya Bhan Karwariya and co-convict Ramchandra Tripathi alias Kallu, who are serving life sentences in the 1996 murder case of Samajwadi Party MLA Jawahar Yadav.A division bench comprising Justice Salil Kumar Rai and Justice Arun Kumar Singh Deshwal passed the order on Oct 5 while hearing the criminal appeals filed by the Karwariya brothers and Tripathi.Their first bail applications had been rejected on May 9, 2023. Another convict in the case, former MLA Uday Bhan Karwariya, did not move a second bail application as his sentence was recently commuted by Uttar Pradesh govt.Jawahar Yadav was shot dead in broad daylight in Prayagraj’s Civil Lines area on Aug 13, 1996. The assailants allegedly used an AK-47 assault rifle in the attack.In 2019, a Prayagraj trial court convicted the Karwariya brothers and their associates and sentenced them to life imprisonment.In their second bail applications, the appellants cited their prolonged incarceration and argued that their appeals had remained pending for more than two years without being heard on merits.Rejecting the plea, the high court observed that since May 2023 it had repeatedly urged counsel for the appellants to argue the main appeals. However, the defence had consistently sought adjournments and pressed only for short-term bail applications.The court held that both the gravity of the offence and the appellants’ conduct in delaying the hearing of their appeals weighed against the grant of bail, and dismissed the applications.
