Putting an end to the long-drawn tussle between the Uttar Pradesh and the Punjab govt, the Supreme Court Friday ordered the transfer of mafia don turned politician Mukhtar Ansari to jail in Uttar Pradesh. The BSP MLA is currently lodged in a Punjab jail.
The apex court asked the Punjab government to make the arrangements within two weeks and ensure he faces further trials in Uttar Pradesh.
Supreme Court orders transfer of gangster-turned-politican Mukhtar Ansari to jail in Uttar Pradesh from Punjab within two weeks, to face trials there.
— ANI (@ANI) March 26, 2021
(File photo) pic.twitter.com/UJP6o2MOLo
According to reports, the notorious gangster and former Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mukhtar Ansari will be shifted from Rupnagar Jail in Punjab to Uttar Pradesh’s Banda Jail in the coming two weeks.
The order has come after the Uttar Pradesh government led by Yogi Adityanath moved the Supreme Court, requesting the latter to direct the Punjab govt and Rupnagar jail authority to immediately hand over the custody of Ansari to them. It had also sought a direction to transfer the criminal proceedings and trial in the extortion case in Punjab to the special court in Allahabad.
Punjab government has been trying very hard to prevent Ansari’s transfer to UP jail
The Congress-led Punjab government, arguing against the transfer in front of a bench of justices Ashok Bhushan and RS Reddy, said that Ansari can appear for cases underway in Uttar Pradesh via video-conferencing.
While the Uttar Pradesh government alleged in the court that there is collusion between Mukhtar Ansari and the Punjab Police, the Amarinder Singh government refuted these allegations.
The Punjab Government, on the other hand, raised questions over the maintainability of the plea filed by the Yogi Adityanath-led government. Appearing for the Punjab government, senior lawyer Dushyant Dave argued before the SC that article 32 is not maintainable in this case and that one state cannot get a case transferred from another state in such a manner.
Senior lawyer and former Attorney General (AG) Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Ansari, submitted to the apex court that the accused has been appearing in all courts. He also argued that Ansari has been even acquitted in some cases.
Meanwhile, Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government, said that “the respondent (Ansari) had flouted the law when in jail and outside the jail.”
“He is facing more than 50 FIRs. Look at his apprehensions. I am answerable and I have a responsibility in the society,” Mehta added.
The apex court, however, after listening to both sides, had reserved its order in the case pertaining to the transfer of jailed politician Mukhtar Ansari from Punjab to Uttar Pradesh and ordered that the process be completed in the next two weeks.
Mukhtar Ansari successfully evading the UP police under the custodianship of the Congress-led government in Punjab
Interestingly, in October last year, the Punjab government had put Mukhtar Ansari on ‘bed rest’ for three months when a team of UP Police had visited Punjab to bring back the gangster. This was the fourth time when Uttar Pradesh police had returned empty-handed. Thrice prior to this incident, Mukhtar Ansari managed to evade the UP police with the help of the Punjab authorities.
The gangster-turned-politician has been in Punjab jail since January 2019. Ansari reportedly got himself shifted to Punjab jail fearing threat to his life in UP jails.
Mukhtar Ansari’s endearment for Congress is not unknown. Not many people know that notorious gangster Mukhtar Ansari is the nephew of India’s former Vice President and Congress leader Hamid Ansari. Pertinently, in 2014, Ansari had backed Congress candidate against Modi in Varanasi.
Yogi Adityanath government’s crackdown on Mukhtar Ansari’s illegal empire
While, Mukhtar Ansari was successfully evading the UP police under the custodianship of the Congress-led government in Punjab, back in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP Govt led by Yogi Adityanath continued to crack the whip on the economic empire and armoury of the jailed don.
On November 1, 2020, the Ghazipur district administration had demolished illegal properties belonging to gangster turned politician Mukhtar Ansari. The district administration demolished Ghazipur situated Hotel Ghazal which was being run by Ansari’s wife and his sons. The hotel was often referred to as Mukhtar Ansari’s ‘Taj Mahal’.
The state government had earlier demolished another illegal property in Dalibagh colony in Lucknow belonging to the Bahujan Samaj Party leader Ansari. The administration seized several properties worth Rs 3.17 crores of aides of Mukhtar Ansari in Jaunpur. The Police also suspended arms licenses of Ansari’s four aides in July.
