Samajwadi Party MLA from Meerut, Rafiq Ansari, was arrested for failing to appear before the Allahabad High Court despite multiple non-bailable warrants issued against him in connection with a 1995 case. According to the police, Ansari was apprehended in the Zaidpur area of Barabanki district and subsequently brought before an MP/MLA court, which ordered a 14-day judicial custody.
Superintendent of Police (City) Ayush Vikram Singh stated that Ansari had been "missing" for several days, prompting raids to locate him. Despite several non-bailable warrants issued by the high court, Ansari did not present himself in court, Singh added.
What was the case?
The case against Ansari was registered under Section 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees) of the Indian Penal Code at Civil Lines police station here in 1995. The arrested MLA was accused of causing traffic jams and damaging property. The high court had ordered that Ansari be arrested and produced before it. Police had formed a team to arrest the SP MLA, Singh said.
Another police officer said Ansari was produced before the MP/MLA court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Nadeem Anwar under tight security around 9 pm. The court sent him to 14-day judicial custody.
Initial charge sheet filed against 22 individuals
Following the investigation, an initial charge sheet was filed against 22 individuals, followed by a supplementary charge sheet against Rafiq Ansari, which the court acknowledged in August 1997. Due to Ansari's failure to appear in court, a non-bailable warrant was issued on December 12, 1997. Despite the issuance of numerous non-bailable warrants -- 101 in total -- and processes under Section 82 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) for proclamation of an absconding person, Ansari did not appear before the trial court.
Earlier this month, the high court had refused to set aside the criminal proceedings against Ansari, saying that he failed to appear before the trial court despite the issuance of around 100 non-bailable warrants against him between 1997 and 2015.
(With inputs from PTI)
