In a major setback to Tamil magazine Nakkeeran editor R R Gopal, the Supreme Court on Friday cancelled the bail granted to him by the Madras high court in a case in which the Tamil Nadu government had invoked Prevention of Terrorism Act charges against him.

A bench, comprising Justice S N Variava and Justice H K Sema, allowed the appeal filed by the state government challenging the high court order on the ground that it did not consider the case material before coming to the conclusion that POTA charges were prima facie not made out against him.

Gopal, arrested on April 11 this year in the 'Rajamani man-missing case' of 1999 has been in custody for the last five months.

Another bench of the apex court, however, had restrained the Tamil Nadu government from filing the charge sheet against him in the same case till it decided his petition challenging the invocation of POTA charges against him.

POTA charges were invoked on Gopal five days after his arrest on the alleged recovery of illegal arms and ammunition from his possession.

Gopal had contended that the state government had animosity against him for his reporting pertaining to the activities of notorious forest brigand Veerappan and was harassing him by foisting false cases.

A designated POTA court in Chennai had rejected the bail plea of Gopal. The high court, while granting bail, had said as the seized arms and ammunitions have been described differently by the police on various documents, it prima facie appeared that the recovery itself was 'doubtful'.