GUWAHATI: The Supreme Court on Monday reserved its verdict in an appeal filed by activist-turned-politician Akhil Gogoi against the Gauhati High Court’s decision to set aside the order of the trial court which discharged him from a case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
The Gauhati High Court had remanded the discharge application for fresh consideration after finding fault with the trial court for not granting sufficient time to the NIA to contest the matter.
Senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, appearing for Gogoi, told a division bench of Justices V Ramasubramanian and Pankaj Mithal that sending the embattled legislator back to jail after being ‘at liberty’ for almost two years on the basis of flimsy evidence, some of which was from before 2009 would be a ‘travesty’ of justice.
Earlier on March 3, the Supreme Court extended the protection from arrest granted to independent Assam MLA Akhil Gogoi until March 13 in connection with a case related to anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests and suspected Maoist links.
