The Allahabad High Court has stayed the execution of the sentence imposed on Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh by the MP-MLA court of Sultanpur in a 2001 street protest case.
The special court had sentenced Singh to three months of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1,500 on January 11 last year for obstructing a public road and inciting violence during a 2001 protest in Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh.
On 21st August (Wednesday), the Lucknow bench of the high court granted an urgent plea, ruling that Singh need not surrender to the Sultanpur court until a decision is made on his bail application, which was set for Thursday. Singh, along with five others, was convicted by the MP-MLA court on January 11, 2023, and their appeal was rejected by the sessions court on August 6 of this year. A non-bailable warrant was issued against Singh, Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Anoop Sanda, and four others on August 13.
A bench led by Justice K.S. Pawar, issued an order on Singh’s revision petition, challenging the special court’s January 11, 2023, ruling. The bench stated that the execution of the sentence is stayed until further notice and admitted the petition for final hearing. Singh must provide a personal bond of Rs 50,000 to the special court and ensure his or his counsel’s appearance for future hearings.
Justice Pawar commented that, prima facie, the elements required for charges under sections 143 (unlawful assembly) and 341 (wrongful restraint) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) appear to be missing, and the previous judgments are deemed flawed. Senior counsel S.C. Mishra, representing Singh, argued that the prosecution witnesses’ testimonies were misleading and that Singh was being targeted due to political motives.
