The Maharashtra government has barely met the deadline for filing an appeal in the Supreme Court against the suspension of police officer Manohar Kadam’s life sentence in the Ramabai Nagar firing case of 1997.

Advocate Shakil Ahmed, who had moved the original petition that led to the conviction, and a citizens’ group have alleged that the government appeal, filed days before the expiry of the 90-day deadline, is little more than an attempt to appear pro-Dalit ahead of the Assembly elections.

The police had fired on a Dalit mob on July 11, 1997, leaving 10 dead and 25 injured. A lower court had found Kadam guilty of “injudicious, unwarranted, unjustified, and indiscriminate” firing. The Bombay High Court later suspended the sentence.

The state appeal mentions the plight of several families affected by the firing. “It took 12 long years for the sessions court to convict Kadam. If Kadam is not sent behind bars, the purpose of the state’s sanction to prosecute him will not be justified,” reads the appeal.

But advocate Ahmed questioned the state’s seriousness, saying, “First the state secured a life sentence and tried to appease the Dalit vote-bank, but when Kadam moved the High Court, the state made a very poor representation, which enabled him to obtain bail. Now just a week before the announcement of code of conduct for the elections, the state has filed an appeal, yet another tactic to appear considerate and pro-Dalit.”

Pravin Satale, an independent advocate representing a citizens’ group that is monitoring the proceedings, said, “We will remain an additional appellant. If the state decides to go lenient on Kadam, we will ensure justice is met. The state has finally taken action but has nowhere justified how the victims are still being tried in a counter-case filed against them.” The counter-case accuses some firing victims of rioting and attempt to murder.

... contd.