Supreme Court grants Mukhtar Ansari’s son anticipatory bail
A bench of justices Hrishikesh Roy and PK Mishra, which directed Ansari to participate in the trial, issued notice in response to his plea in January
The Supreme Court on Monday granted anticipatory bail to Umar Ansari, son of the late gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, in a case filed against him for allegedly being part of a conspiracy to promote enmity and obstruct public servants during the 2022 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.
“Having regard to the circumstances, more particularly, the offending statements not being attributable to the petitioner but his brother...we direct that in case the petitioner is arrested, he shall be released on furnishing a bail bond of the sum of ₹20,000,” said a bench of justices Hrishikesh Roy and PK Mishra.
The court, which directed Ansari to participate in the trial, issued notice in response to his plea in January. It protected him from arrest in the case lodged based on his brother Abbas Ansari’s speech.
The case was filed over the alleged violation of the model code of conduct and under the Indian Penal Code’s Sections 171F (causing undue influence at an election), 186 (obstructing public servant), 189 (causing injury to public servant), 153A (promoting enmity prejudicial to maintenance of harmony), 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 506 (criminal intimidation).
Uttar Pradesh’s additional advocate-general, Garima Prasad, told the court that Umar Ansari was on the stage when the alleged utterances were made to incite the masses.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing along with advocate Nizam Pasha for Umar Ansari, said it was a case where the other accused were out on bail. “He was on the stage and has never uttered anything. There is no case against me. I have even appeared before the trial court and they have never called me”
Umar Ansari moved the Supreme Court after the Allahabad high court rejected his plea for quashing the matter in December.
The state government submitted the petitioner could approach the high court for anticipatory bail. But the top court said, “We deem it appropriate to grant relief.”
Sibal submitted the high court refused to grant bail citing the petitioner’s past antecedents. He said Umar Ansari has been granted bail in two of the five cases he faces. He added orders for no coercive steps were passed in two other cases while the fifth was quashed.
Umar Ansari withdrew the anticipatory bail plea in the high court in September 2022 to pursue the other matter of quashing the case.