MUMBAI: A special court on Tuesday sentenced former MLA and Prahar Janshakti Party founder Bachchu Kadu to three months of simple imprisonment for assaulting and intimidating a government officer at Mantralaya in 2018.
Special Judge SR Navander, however, suspended the sentence to enable the former MLA from Achalpur in Amravati district to challenge the order and granted him bail for the appeal period.
The special court for handling cases involving MPs and MLAs held Kadu guilty under sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from discharge of duty) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code in the case registered at the Marine Drive police station. He was acquitted of the charge under section 504 (intentional insult).
According to the prosecution, on September 26, 2018, Kadu allegedly entered the chamber of the deputy director of education (planning), Vijaykumar Kalose, at Mantralaya without permission during office hours. The court noted that “the accused was shouting in a loud voice” while asking Kalose to cancel the tender process related to a competitive exam.
When Kalose told him to lower his voice and discuss the matter peacefully, Kadu “got angry, took the laptop from the table, raised it above his head, and gave a threat to kill him…,” the court noted. Even though the laptop was not ultimately used to strike the complainant, “raising it above [the] head in a threatening manner was sufficient to cause alarm to a person of ordinary prudence,” it said.
{{/usCountry}}When Kalose told him to lower his voice and discuss the matter peacefully, Kadu “got angry, took the laptop from the table, raised it above his head, and gave a threat to kill him…,” the court noted. Even though the laptop was not ultimately used to strike the complainant, “raising it above [the] head in a threatening manner was sufficient to cause alarm to a person of ordinary prudence,” it said.
{{/usCountry}}The judgment further recorded that Kadu slapped Kalose on his left cheek and also “gave a fist blow on the chest,” causing the officer to stumble. Two education department officials witnessed the incident and corroborated the complainant’s account.
In his statement, Kadu denied the allegations, alleging he was falsely implicated for highlighting irregularities in the tender process. However, the court rejected the argument, holding: “The act of the accused clearly comes within the ambit of section 353. The threat given by the accused amounts to criminal intimidation within the meaning of section 506.”
Kadu was sentenced to three months’ simple imprisonment and a ₹5,000 fine for the section 353 offence and three months' simple imprisonment and a ₹5,000 fine for the section 506 offence, with both sentences running concurrently.
Immediately after conviction, the court heard Kadu’s application to suspend the sentence pending appeal. Considering that Kadu had been on bail during trial, the judge ordered the suspension of the sentence under section 389 of the CrPC on his furnishing a ₹15,000 personal bond and surety or equivalent cash security, and directed him to deposit the total fine of ₹10,000.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Kadu was sentenced to three years of imprisonment. The error is regretted.
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