SC Issues Notice to UP Govt Over Ajay Rai’s Plea to Quash Gangsters Act Case

The Supreme Court on Tuesday has issued a notice to the Uttar Pradesh government in response to a plea from Congress leader Ajay Rai.

Rai’s plea challenges the Allahabad High Court’s decision to continue criminal proceedings against him in a Varanasi trial court under several IPC sections and the Gangsters Act, related to a case registered in 2010.

What Vacation Bench Stated?

A vacation bench comprising Justices Abhay S. Oka and Rajesh Bindal has requested a response from both the UP government and Bhanu Pratap Singh, the complainant who filed the FIR.

Rai’s counsel, who recently contested the Varanasi seat against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, sought a stay on the proceedings.

However, the bench declined this request and has scheduled the next hearing for July 15.

Case History

Previously, on May 19, the High Court dismissed a petition from Rai, who is also the president of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee, seeking to quash the case under the Gangster Act.

The FIR, filed on March 26, 2010, by Bhanu Pratap Singh at the Chetganj police station in Varanasi, names 6 individuals, including Rai.

The High Court also rejected a compromise reached between the accused and the complainant on September 28, 2023.

It stated that offenses under the Gangsters Act are independent and are imposed by the State government to fulfill the Act’s objectives, not at the behest of the complainant.

Furthermore, the court clarified that there is no legal basis to quash proceedings under section 7 of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act and section 3(1) of the UP Gangsters Act, despite a compromise between the parties for offenses under the IPC.