Today 2nd April, Supreme Court Concludes Legal Proceedings Regarding Mukhtar Ansari’s Appeal Against Conviction.
New Delhi: In light of Mukhtar Ansari’s passing, the Supreme Court concluded proceedings today on Tuesday regarding his appeal against a verdict by the Allahabad High Court, which sentenced the imprisoned former gangster-turned-politician to a five-year prison term in a case dating back 24 years.
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The bench composed of justices Bela M Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal, upon acknowledging the announcement of Ansari’s passing, stated,
“The petitioner is deceased. The proceedings shall be abated,”
Ansari passed away on March 28 due to a heart attack at a hospital in Banda, Uttar Pradesh. On October 13 last year, the Supreme Court asked the Uttar Pradesh government to respond to Ansari’s appeal against the high court’s decision.
Before this incident, on September 23, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court reversed Ansari’s acquittal and imposed a five-year prison sentence on him in a case linked to the Gangster Act.
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The high court fined Ansari Rs 50,000 while reversing the acquittal order from a special MP-MLA court in 2020.
The FIR filed in Lucknow’s Hazratganj police in 1999 under the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act. Ansari was acquitted by a special court in 2020, but the state appealed against the acquittal in 2021.
The special court acquitted Ansari, a five-time MLA from Mau Sadar constituency stating that,
“The prosecution failed to establish the offense against him beyond a reasonable doubt.”