Odisha establishes Special Court to hear cases of jailed Maoist leader Azad

Bhubaneswar, Dec 11 (PTI) The Odisha government has established a Special Court to speed up the trial of Maoist leader Dunna Kesava Rao, alias Azad (52), who has been in judicial custody since 2011, a Home department notification said on Thursday.

The notification said, "... in compliance of the order of Supreme Court, the state government in consultation with High Court of Orissa, do hereby establish court of Additional District and Session Judge at Paralakhemundi in addition to the existing number of such courts in the judgeship of Gajapati with effect from the date the said court functions with the local limits of jurisdiction in the entire state of Odisha and fix the place of sitting of the said court at Paralakhemundi for speedy trial of cases pending against D Kesava Rao." However, the Special Court will hear cases excluding those registered under the POCSO Act, 2012, for the time being, it said.

This is perhaps the first instance in the state when a separate court has been created solely to dispose of pending cases of one individual undertrial prisoner.

At least 37 criminal cases are currently pending against Azad in Odisha and in his native Andhra Pradesh. He was the prime accused in the killing of VHP leader Swami Laxamananda Saraswati, which led to large-scale communal violence in Kandhamal in 2008. At least 39 people were killed, and thousands of houses were burnt in the month-long violence.

Azad was also an accused in the case related to attacks on the Nayagarh police armoury in 2008 and R Udaygiri jail in 2006. In the Nayagarh armoury attack incident, at least 14 people, including 13 police personnel, were killed.

He also has a murder case against him at the Tumudibandha police station in Kandhamal district.

Azad has been acquitted in at least ten cases.

Seeking speedy trial of his cases, Azad had launched hunger strikes in jail several times and in March this year, the Supreme Court had directed the governments of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh to consider setting up special courts for faster disposal of Azad's cases.

Azad was a member of the Maoist party's Orissa State Organising Committee (ORSOC), and he had surrendered before the Andhra Pradesh police on May 18, 2011. He was handed over to the Odisha police on June 1, 2011. PTI AAM AAM RG