The law is not equal to all. To know why, read this:
– Subrata Roy Sahara has been a contemnor for 2 years now. The long rope given by SC wouldn’t happen for the aam Aadmi.
– He had an NBW against him. He cannot ‘surrender’. He can only be arrested. But the media says, he has surrendered.
– He had been evading law. Any other person would be arrested and taken in police custody, and lodged at the station, based on his past behavior. Roy has been taken for a picnic in a forest guest house, a holiday at the expense of the state.
– the medical tests after arrest happen at a government hospital. In this case, the doctors came to his home for health check.
– The arrest was made at at 10.15 am. All jail manuals say that no prisoner can enter the jail after 5 PM. Roy was produced before the CJM at 5.30 PM, to ensure that police custody would not lead to jail.
– On thursday, The lucknow police carried a facade of a raid. By Friday, the Delhi police landed, worrying Roy. Lucknow is his own, as much as the administration. So, The lucknow police move in, and go through the farce of arresting him, to deny the Delhi police arrest and lodging him in Delhi jail.
– From 10.15 AM to 5.30 PM, the lucknow police looked like being in the custody of Roy than the other way around. They were at Roy’s home and Roy was not at a police station.
– In such cases, transit remand is the norm, as the Lucknow police are only helping the Delhi police in executing an order. They would want hand over the responsibility at the soonest. However, in Roy’s case, Lucknow police willingly took the onus on themselves to produce him before SC.
– The magistrate, ordered Roy to be in police custody(not judicial custody). This is meant to leave space for the police to take him on a state holiday. The magistrate did his job, while ensuring that Roy is protected for the next few days.
– The entire episode is in the cavalcade of Audis and BMWs. Not police jeeps and vans. It was clear that police were guests of Roy, and not the other way round.
– The Magistrate was made to wait for Roy till 5.30 PM. It was a court convened on a holiday because of Maha Shiva Rathri. The Aam Aadmi dare not do that.
– The fear of Roy is such, that the special public prosecutor suffered a heart stroke, while discussing the case with CJM. He has to be seen as correct but cannot upset Roy, like the CJM himself.
– His defense yesterday included Ravi Shankar Prasad of BJP and Ram Jethmalani (both in Supreme Court). It also included Abhishek Singhvi of Congress at one point. His administrative protection is from the Samajvadi party.
-wrote Peri Maheshwar
