Kochi: Justice for Murali, a Kochi-based collective of human rights activists chaired by Justice (Retd) P.K. Shamsuddin, has welcomed the order of Mumbai High Court granting bail to Muraleedharan K (Murali Kannampally) a Maoist under-trial prisoner at Yerwada Central Jail in Pune for more than three and a half years. The order of the court is an iteration of the legal and constitutional rights of under-trial prisoners, the collective said in a statement on Tuesday.

The collective however expressed disappointment that the prosecution has sought time to file an appeal against the order. “We appeal to the prosecution to withdraw this unfortunate decision and permit the 65-year old Murali with a history of cardiac disease, to come out from the prison”, the statement said.

“We have pointed out the injustice in the inordinate delay in beginning the trial of Murali for cases registered against him even 44 months after he was arrested on May 8, 2015. In such a situation seeking time to an appeal against the bail order will defeat the purpose of bail”, it added.