'If He Isn't A Gangster, No One In The Country Is': Allahabad HC Denies Bail To Ex-MLA Mukhtar Ansari In A Gangster Act Case

The Allahabad High Court last week denied bail to the former UP MLA Mukhtar Ansari in connection with a case under UP Gangster Act registered in 2020 while considering the allegations and his rich criminal horoscope.

Observing that if Ansari is not a gangster, then in this country no one can be said to be a gangster, the bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh said that he and his gang members accumulated enormous wealth by striking fear and terror in the minds and hearts of the people and his freedom would be in peril of the law-abiding citizens of this Court.

Significantly, before the hearing in this bail plea begin, Ansari's counsel prayed for withdrawal of the plea, however, the Court proceeded to decide the bail application on merits while noting that Anari wanted to avoid the Bench. The Court observed thus:

"This Court is of the view that the accused-applicant wants to avoid this Bench and, therefore, it has been prayed on behalf of the accused applicant to reject this bail application as withdrawn simplicitor as there is no bar for filing subsequent bail application. Therefore, this Court would like to proceed to decide the case on merit instead of rejecting the bail application as withdrawn simplicitor...The benchmark, that justice must not only be done but should also appear to be done, has to be preserved at all costs. Any attempt for bench-hunting, bench-hopping and benchavoiding needs to be strongly repulsed." 

The Allegations against Ansari

The case against the UP Gangster act arose from the allegations that Ansari and his gang members, in 2014, opened indiscriminate fire from illegal automatic weapons on innocent workers, who were working with a rival contractor of Ansari, which resulted in the death of one person and injury to others.

It was alleged that his gang members wanted to strike fear and terror and give a message that one should not dare to take contract work of the Government in his area. In respect of the said offence, an FIR was also registered under Sections 147, 148, 149, 302, 307, 506 and 120-B IPC and after completion of the investigation, a charge sheet was filed.

Since this incident created an atmosphere of helter-skelter and people got scared and terrified, a Gang chart was prepared and approved by the District Magistrate wherein it was noted because of the criminal activities of the gang such as murder etc. there remains a problem of law and order and no one dares to give evidence against them.

Court's observations

At the outset, the Court took into account the criminal history of Ansari and the observations made by the HC against him while denying him bail last year in a case over the misappropriation of MLA Funds in the year 2012-13, wherein, the bench of Justice Rahul Chaturvedi had made the following observations:

"He is a hardened and habitual offender, who has been in sphere of crime since 1986, but he has managed not a single conviction against him. He has more than 56 cases to his credit of heinous nature and he could manage his affairs in such a way that he did not receive a single conviction barring of two which have been rendered recently...it is slur and challenge to the judicial system that such an dreaded and white collored criminal in the field of crime is undefeated and unabetted."

Read more about Court's observations here: "He Is A Dreaded Criminal, A Canker In Society" Allahabad HC Denies Bail To Ex-MLA Mukhtar Ansari In Funds Misappropriation Case

Further, the Court expressed also disappointment over the fact that Ansari could get managed to get elected to UP Legislative Assembly for six consecutive times as it observed tus:

"It is a most unfortunate and ugly face of our democracy where a person, on one hand, facing almost two dozen sessions trials, but he gets elected by the public as their representative for six consecutive times."

Against this backdrop, considering the allegations and the rich criminal horoscope of the accused-applicant and also taking into consideration of the fact that in most of the cases the accused-applicant could secure acquittal as the witnesses turned hostile because of fear and terror or the witnesses got eliminated and a criminal, gangster and bahubali, the Court did not find him enttiled to be enlarged on bail.

Case title - Mokhtar Ansari vs. State of U.P [CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 11290 of 2022]

Case Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (AB) 14

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