Mukhtar Ansari sentenced to 5 years imprisonment in 23-year-old FIR under Gangsters Act by Allahabad High Court

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Friday sentenced Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Mukhtar Ansari to five years' rigorous imprisonment and a ₹50,000 fine under the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act [State of UP v Mukhtar Ansari]..Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh set aside a 2020 order passed by the Special Judge, MP/MLA cases acquitting Ansari of charges under the Gangsters Act.The single-judge emphasised that the offences under Sections 2 and 3 of the Gangsters Act were distinct from substantive offences, and thus were not affected by acquittals or convictions for the same."If the prosecution proves that the person belongs to a gang and indulges himself in committing offence with object of disturbing public order or of gaining any undue temporal and pecuniary material or other advantage for himself or any other person, he may be punished under the Gangsters Act", the court explained. .The conviction arose out of a First Information Report (FIR) which was lodged against Ansari in 1999 stating that he had a gang which committed heinous offences including murder, extortion, kidnapping and abduction.As per the FIR, Ansari struck terror in the hearts and minds of the people, and no-one dared to lodge an FIR even against members of the gang. Therefore, the general public felt insecure and lived in fear in Lucknow and adjoining areas..The State's counsel argued that even if no FIR was registered against a person, they could still be prosecuted for offences under the Gangsters Act since the purpose of the act was to curb organised crime and criminal activities of gangs and gangsters.Further, it was submitted that even if Ansari was acquitted in the substantive offences mentioned in the gang-chart, he would not be absolved from the offences under Sections 2 and 3 of the act..In this regard, the judge relied on other judgments of the High Court to hold that acquittal or conviction was immaterial for invoking provisions of the act against a person who is otherwise a member of the gang and allegedly commits offences defined under Section 2 (b)..With this, the State government's appeal against acquittal was allowed. .The State was represented by advocate UC Verma while the accused was represented by advocates Abhishek Misra, Karunesh Singh and Satendra Kumar (Singh)..Earlier this week, the High Court had sentenced Ansari to seven years' imprisonment for intimidating a jailer by abusing, pointing a pistol at him and threatening to kill him in 2003..[Read Order]