Justice Chandra Shekhar Jha, in separate rulings, upheld Singh’s appeals against the decisions of the MP/MLA court in Patna, which had been issued in June and July of the previous year. As a result, Singh is now expected to be released from jail.
BIHAR: On Wednesday(14th Aug), the Patna High Court set aside the conviction of former Bihar MLA Anant Kumar Singh in two separate cases, both of which had previously led to 10-year prison sentences.
Justice Chandra Shekhar Jha, in separate rulings, upheld Singh’s appeals against the decisions of the MP/MLA court in Patna, which had been issued in June and July of the previous year. As a result, Singh is now expected to be released from jail.
Anant Kumar Singh, a former gangster turned politician who had represented the Mokama assembly seat multiple times, was disqualified from his position following his first conviction in June 2022. This conviction stemmed from a case where an AK-47 rifle, ammunition, and two hand grenades were found at his ancestral home in 2020.
The second case, for which he was convicted in July 2022, involved the discovery of an INSAS rifle in 2015 at his government-allocated residence in Patna. The court noted that Singh was incarcerated when the raid occurred at his Patna residence, and none of the prosecution witnesses indicated that Singh was aware of the items at the premises.
READ ALSO: “Over 2,000 Criminal Cases Against MPs and MLAs Decided in 2023”: SC Informed
Regarding the AK-47 rifle and grenades found at his Mokama residence, the court highlighted that the prosecution failed to provide evidence that Singh had visited the property shortly before the items were seized from the locked compound.
Singh’s wife, Neelam Devi, who now holds the Mokama seat and won it on an RJD ticket, had recently switched allegiance to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U). Singh’s lawyer, Sunil Kumar, stated that with Singh having secured bail in all other cases and his convictions now overturned, they anticipate his release soon.
Singh had previously claimed that the charges against him in the Mokama case were politically motivated, pointing out that his wife had contested against Rajiv Ranjan Singh, a senior JD(U) leader and Union minister who represents the Munger Lok Sabha seat, under which the Mokama assembly segment falls.
Singh also questioned the integrity of the investigation led by the then Additional Superintendent of Police, Lipi Singh, whose father, RCP Singh, was a prominent JD(U) leader and briefly served in the Union cabinet.
During the Lok Sabha elections, Singh, who was on medical parole, was present in Mokama and had publicly supported Rajiv Ranjan Singh, which is believed to have contributed to the JD(U) leader’s successful re-election from Munger.
Meanwhile, Tejashwi Yadav, the leader of the opposition in the Bihar assembly, criticized the JD(U) over this development.
He remarked,
“When Anant Singh was with us, he was considered a criminal. Now that he’s with Nitish ji, he’s no longer seen as an outlaw. The people will have to judge the chief minister’s claim that he neither frames nor protects anyone.”
