Patna HC sets aside conviction of former MLA Anant Singh in two key cases
Singh faced disqualification following the first order of conviction passed in June 2022, relating to a case lodged after an AK-47 rifle, ammunition, and two hand grenades were recovered from his ancestral residence at Mokama two years earlie
Patna: The Patna high court on Wednesday set aside the conviction of former MLA Anant Kumar Singh in two cases of similar nature that had earned him sentences of 10 years each.
In separate orders, justice Chandra Shekhar Jha allowed appeals of Singh challenging the orders of MP/MLA court, Patna, passed in June and July, 2022.
Singh is now expected to walk out of the Beur Central Jail in Patna, where he is currently lodged.
Gangster-turned-politician Singh had represented the Mokama assembly seat several times. He had faced disqualification following the first order of conviction passed in June 2022, relating to a case lodged after an AK-47 rifle, ammunition, and two hand grenades were recovered from his ancestral residence at Mokama two years earlier.
The second case, in which the order came in July 2022, related to the recovery of an INSAS rifle in 2015 from the official residence of the MLA in Patna.
The court noted that the MLA was in jail when the raid was conducted at his Patna residence and that “none of the prosecution witnesses” suggested that he was aware of the presence of the items at the premises.
In regards to the recovery of the AK-47 rifle, grenades, and other items from his Mokama residence, the court pointed out, among other things, the prosecution’s failure to “bring on record whether the convict/appellant visited the premises soon before” the items were seized from the “locked” compound.
Singh’s wife, Neelam Devi, who now represents Mokama, had won the seat on a ticket of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), with which her husband too was associated. A few months ago, however, she crossed over to chief minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) [JD-U].
“My client has secured bail in all other cases. With the honourable high court setting aside his conviction in the two cases, we are looking forward to his release at the earliest,” said Singh’s lawyer Sunil Kumar.
Incidentally, Singh had also alleged political witch-hunting in the Mokama case, underscoring the fact that his wife had contested against Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan, senior JD(U) leader and Union minister, who represents Munger Lok Sabha seat under which the assembly segment falls.
Singh had also cast doubts over the investigation carried out by the then additional superintendent of police (ASP) Lipi Singh, whose father RCP Singh was then a top leader of the JD(U) and went on to enjoy a brief tenure in the Union cabinet.
“... The political enmity and over-activism on part of ASP (Barh) cannot be ruled out straightaway. It also transpired from the deposition of the prosecution witnesses that photography or videography of the alleged raid, search, and seizure were not made despite having sufficient time as the same was conducted for 12 to 14 hours,” the high court said in its 104-page order.
During the Lok Sabha elections, Singh had been out on parole, granted on medical grounds. His presence in Mokama during the period and declaration of support for Lalan is believed to have played a role in the JD(U) leader’s comfortable victory from Munger for a second consecutive term.
Meanwhile, leader of the opposition in assembly Tejashwi Yadav trained his guns at the JD(U) over the development.
“When Anant Singh was with us, he was a criminal. Now that he is with Nitish Ji, he has ceased to be an outlaw. It is for the people to judge the chief minister’s claim that he frames none and shields none,” the RJD leader told reporters.