Meerut: In an interesting development, the Allahabad High Court expressed astonishment at the authorities' failure to apprehend local Samajwadi Party MLA Rafiq Ansari, who has been evading court warrants for the last nearly three decades. The court said that the non-execution of the non-bailable warrant “sets a perilous and egregious precedent”.
"...non execution of non-bailable warrant against the sitting MLA and allowing him to participate in assembly session sets a perilous and egregious precedent", a bench of Justice Sanjay Kumar Singh observed recently.
The court observation came after 101 non-bailable warrants were issued against the SP MLA in a case dating back to 1995 but he did not appear in court even once.
The court made the remarks while hearing a quashing plea filed by the SP MLA against a Criminal Case under Sections 147, 436, and 427 IPC pending in the court of the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, MP/MLA, Meerut. The case was filed way back in September 1995 against 35-40 persons including Rafiq for alleged rioting, vandalism, and arson at Meerut’s Nauchandi police station.
Significantly, as many as 101 non-bailable warrants were issued against SP MLA Rafiq Ansari between 1997 and 2015. MLA Rafiq Ansari had recently challenged the non-bailable warrant issued by the court, which rejected the plea.
The High Court observed that by allowing public representatives facing allegations to escape legal accountability, we “run the risk of maintaining a culture of impunity and disrespect for the rule of law”.
After the case was filed in September 1995, police filed the first chargesheet against 22 accused. A supplementary chargesheet was presented later, on which the concerned court took cognizance in August 1997.
In the petition filed in the High Court, MLA Rafiq Ansari's lawyer argued that originally 22 accused in the case were acquitted on 15 May 1997 saying the proceedings against MLA Rafiq should be canceled.
But the High Court made a serious comment saying it cannot remain a silent spectator by closing its eyes. “Not executing the non-bailable warrant against the sitting MLA, allowing him to participate in the assembly session, can set a dangerous and serious precedent, which destroys the public's trust in the elected representative and weakens the integrity of the judicial process system in the state,” the court observed.
The High Court has commented that elected officials should maintain the highest standards of ethical conduct and accountability lest they betray their mandate of doing good for the public.
The High Court also directed UP DGP to ensure the execution of the non-bailable warrant issued earlier by the trial court against Ansari. If it has not been executed yet, then a compliance affidavit will be filed on the next date, the court said.
