Prayagraj : Allahabad High Court has rejected the petition of Meerut MLA Rafiq Ansari, refusing to grant relief in the 1995 case. The NBW order was challenged in the petition. The court gave the said order after observing that the SP leader failed to appear in the court despite more than 100 non-bailable warrants (NBW) being issued between 1997 and 2015.
Justice Sanjay Kumar Singh’s bench said that the sitting MLA not executing the non-bailable warrant against him and allowing him to attend the Assembly session sets a dangerous and serious precedent. By allowing individuals facing serious criminal charges to escape legal accountability, we risk perpetuating a culture of impunity and disrespect for the rule of law. The High Court made this comment while quashing petition of Ansari related to the criminal case under sections 147, 436 and 427 of the IPC pending in the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate MP MLA Court.
The court said that not executing the non-bailable warrant against the sitting MLA and allowing him to participate in the assembly session sets a dangerous and serious precedent, which undermines the integrity of the state machinery and judicial system while eroding public confidence in elected representatives. It is imperative that elected officials maintain the highest standards of ethical conduct and accountability, lest they betray the essence of their mandate to serve the public good.
In this background, the court rejected his petition and directed that a copy of its order be sent to the Principal Secretary of the UP Assembly for placing it before the Assembly Speaker for information. The court also directed the Director General of Police of UP to ensure execution of the non-bailable warrant already issued by the trial court against Ansari. If the same has not yet been served and compliance affidavit will be filed on the next date. The Court has directed to list the matter for July 22 for the limited purpose of filing the compliance affidavit.
