The Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay the Patna High Court's order granting bail to former Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Mohammad Shahabuddin. It also issued a notice to Shahabuddin on his bail, ANI reported. The court was hearing a number of petitions challenging the order, including one filed by the Bihar government and another by the family of the brothers whom Shahabuddin was accused of murdering.

The Bihar government, which had filed a plea seeking the cancellation of Shahbuddin's bail on Friday, has now sought a non-bailable warrant against him. Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan had also filed a separate public interest litigation against the former parliamentarian's release on behalf of Chandrashekhar Prasad, whose three sons were allegedly killed by Shahbuddin.

Shahabuddin, who was sent to prison in November 2005 in connection with the murder of two brothers in his village, was granted bail by the Patna High Court on September 7 for the murder of a prime witness in that case. He has been in the news since his release from Siwan Central Jail on September 10, after which he criticised Nitish Kumar of being a "chief minister of circumstances".

Chandrashekar Prasad, in his petition, had alleged a threat to his life after Shahabuddin's release. The court has posted the next hearing in the matter to September 26.