New Delhi:
Mohammad Shahabuddin, former Member of Parliament, will be tried for nearly 40 criminal cases including kidnapping and extortion at the Bihar jail where he is serving a life sentence for "kidnapping with the intent to murder."
The Supreme Court has rejected Shahabuddin's petition that he be tried in a general court room, instead of the Siwan prison. The Bihar government and the Patna High court had ruled that he be tried in prison.
Shahabuddin has won four elections from Siwan on behalf of Lalu Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal.
His lawyer, Ram Jethmaliani, had argued in the Supreme Court that Shahbuddin's consent had never been taken for a trial that would not be conducted at a court room.
In 2003, Shahabuddin was arrested for kidnapping a CPI (ML) leader in 1999, who was never found. Four years later, Shahbudddin was found guilty of the missing man's murder.
42-year-old Sahabuddin is facing trial in over 40 criminal cases under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code.