Maharashtra MLA Bachchu Kadu gets bail in 2018 assault case

A special court has granted bail to Maharashtra MLA Bachchu Kadu in a 2018 assault case.

A special court for Members of Legislative Assembly (MLA) granted bail to Prahar Janshakti Party (PJP) MLA from Maharashtra’s Amravati, Bacchu Kadu, in a 2018 case. In the same case, Kadu was granted interim bail last week. The absolute bail was granted after the prosecution told the court that conditional bail could be granted to the MLA.

Special judge RN Rokade granted bail to Kadu after hearing the prosecution. There were a few conditions during the grant of bail and one of them was that Kadu should not commit a similar offence while on bail was added by the court. The court said that if there was a breach of any of the conditions then it would "entail cancellation of bail forthwith."

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Kadu is one of two MLAs of the PJP, a party he set up in 1999. He was Minister of State for Water Resources and the guardian minister of Akola district in the Maha Vikas Aghadi government. However, Kadu had switched over to the Eknath Shinde camp in July when the changeover in government took place. Although he is yet to get any role to play in the present government.

Kadu had allegedly assaulted and abused government officials at the state secretariat in Mumbai in March 2018. He had allegedly barged inside an IAS officer's cabin, misbehaved with him, and threatened him with his own laptop. Kadu had gone to the State Secretariat with some students to protest a competitive exam website that was repeatedly malfunctioning.

The IAS officer had registered the complaint at Marine Drive police station under sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) of the Indian Penal Code.

Kadu, who represents the Achalpur constituency in the Amravati district, had approached the special court last week after a magistrate's court had denied him bail. This situation had arisen as Kadu was supposed to remain present before the Magistrate court but was not and so the court had issued a non-bailable warrant against him.