HC stays some lower court observations

The Gauhati high court on Monday stayed some observations made by a lower court last week against Assam Police while granting bail to Gujarat legislator Jignesh Mevani. While the HC said the stay on the observations “may not be construed in any manner as a stay to the grant of bail” to Mevani, it said the Assam government “shall be at liberty to challenge the said (bail) order”. Mevani was arrested on April 20 in Gujarat’s Palanpur and brought to Assam’s Kokrajhar in connection with “offensive” tweets on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Hours after he was granted bail on April 25, he was re-arrested by Barpeta police on charges of assaulting a woman police officer. On April 29, he was granted bail by a Barpeta court which criticised the police and urged the HC to direct the police to “reform itself”.