Arms license case: Supreme Court asks Uttar Pradesh government to respond to bail plea by MLA Abbas Ansari

The Supreme Court on Monday sought the response of the Uttar Pradesh government to a bail plea by Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Abbas Ansari in connection with an arms license case [Abbas Ansari vs State of Uttar Pradesh]..A bench of Justices BR Gavai, Sanjay Karol and Sandeep Mehta issued notice to the State after briefly hearing Ansari's counsel, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal..In November 2023, the Allahabad High Court refused to grant bail to Ansari in the matter, leading to the instant appeal by him before the apex court.High Court judge, Justice Subhash Vidyarthi had observed that huge quantities of arms and ammunition were recovered from Ansari's house in New Delhi. It noted that "metal jacketed" bullets were also recovered from Ansari's residence, which was not permitted to be used by a shooter. While rejecting the bail plea, the High Court had added that since Ansari was an MLA, there were chances that he might influence witnesses..Abbas Ansari is the elder son of convicted and jailed gangster Mukhtar Ansari, who has also been a legislator in Uttar Pradesh like his sons.The case against Abbas Ansari involves allegations that he had acquired multiple firearms on a specific licence. A first information report (FIR) was lodged against him in the matter in October 2019.It was alleged that he transferred the license from Lucknow to Delhi without informing the relevant police station. He was alleged to have continued using licences from two different States under distinct identity cards.The FIR added that after his gun license from Lucknow became invalid in October 2015, he obtained a new license in New Delhi in June 2017 and purchased a total of seven firearms.Considering the accusations against Ansari, the High Court had expressed strong disapproval of the alleged conduct, deeming it entirely unacceptable.It further observed that Ansari had a criminal history and has been involved in eight cases. In one such case, it was alleged that while he was lodged in jail, he used his influence to let his wife frequently visit the jail without seeking any permission from the authorities and without any checking..Abbas Ansari's plea before the top court was filed through advocate Anjali Jha Manish.