Tuesday, February 7 2006 13:25 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Changing its earlier stand after the elections, the Bihar Government today (Feb 7,2006)told the Supreme Court that it intended to go ahead with the prosecution of Union Minister Md Taslimuddin, who is facing criminal charges including an attempt to murder in a court at Araria in Bihar.

In an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court the Nitish Kumar Government reversed the stand taken by the Rabri Devi Government which had sought to withdraw the cases against Taslimuddin. The Rabri Devi Government had filed an application for withdrawal of cases against Taslimuddin on the ground that proceeding further with the trial would amount to 'sheer waste of court's precious time'.

However the affidavit filed by the new Nitish Kumar Government said the grounds mentioned in the withdrawal application filed in the trial court in 2004 did not exist.

Terming the charges against Taslimuddin as 'very serious, non-bailable, cognizable and non-compoundable' the state Government made it clear that it was not in favour of withdrawal of the cases.

A Bench of Chief Justice Y K Sabharwal, Justice C K Thakker and Justice P K Balasubramanyan asked the parties to file their replies to the Bihar Government's affidavit in two weeks.

The court, which is hearing a PIL filed by an NGO Daily Study Group -- challenging the move to withdraw the cases against Taslimuddin, had already stayed the proceedings in this regard.