After facing backlash for felicitating eight men convicted for killing a meat trader in Jharkhand last year, Union Minister Jayant Sinha on Saturday defended himself and said that the Ranchi High Court has suspended the sentence of the accused and released them on bail.

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A group of people had lynched Alimuddin Ansari, 40, in Bazaar Tand locality of Ramgarh town on June 29, 2017, on the suspicion that he was carrying beef in his car. Forensic tests later confirmed that the meat he was carrying was beef.

In a series of tweets, Sinha who has triggered a political storm said that irresponsible statements are being made about his actions while he was honoring the due process of law.

"I unequivocally condemn all acts of violence and reject any type of vigilantism. The rule of law is supreme in our constitutional democracy. Any unlawful acts, particularly those that violate the rights of any citizen, should be punished with the full force of the law. In the Ramgarh case, the Hon'ble Ranchi High Court, which is the first court of appeal, has suspended the sentence of the accused and released them on bail while admitting their case. The case will once again be re-heard," he said.

Stating that he has repeatedly expressed his misgivings about the Fast-Track Court judgement sentencing each accused to life imprisonment, he said, "I am pleased that the Hon'ble High Court will hear the matter as a statutory court of appeal to test the correctness of the Fast-Track Court order.I have full faith in our judicial system and the rule of law. Unfortunately, irresponsible statements are being made about my actions when all that I am doing is honoring the due process of law. Those that are innocent will be spared and the guilty will be appropriately punished."

In March this year, a fast track court convicted 11 people for lynching. However, last week, Jharkhand High Court suspended the life sentence of eight persons, including a BJP functionary. 

On Friday, after getting bail, the convicts walked out of the Jai Prakash Narain Central Jail and headed straight to Sinha's residence where they were welcomed with garlands.

Jharkhand's leader of opposition Hemant Soren, tagging the minister's alma mater, the prestigious Harvard University said, "This is truly despicable."

"@Harvard Your alumnus @jayantsinha  felicitating the accused in cow related lynching death in India. Is this what @Harvard stands for?," Soren tweeted.

"It was a very sensitive issue and what Sinha did was absolutely unbecoming of a union minister," Soren told a news Channel.

In April, Sinha had raised doubts over the police investigation and demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the Ramgarh lynching case.

“We respect the judicial process. But from whatever I have gathered after consultations and studying the various facets (of the case), I firmly believe that complete justice has not been done. I am not a police officer, and I have not done a detailed inquiry, but as per my understanding, complete justice has not been done," Sinha had said.