Allahabad High Court stays MP-MLA court’s sentence awarded to AAP leader Sanjay Singh in 2001 protest case

Lucknow, August 22

The Allahabad High court on Thursday stayed the execution of the sentence awarded by the MP-MLA court of Sultanpur to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh in a 2001 street protest case.

The special court had on January 11 last year sentenced Singh to three months of rigorous imprisonment and slapped a fine of Rs 1,500 on him for creating obstructions on a public road and inciting violence during a protest in Sultanpur district of Uttar Pradesh in 2001.

Hearing an urgent plea on Wednesday, the Lucknow Bench of the High Court had held that Singh need not surrender before the Sultanpur court till its order comes on his bail plea, which was scheduled for hearing on Thursday.

Singh and five others were convicted by the MP-MLA court on January 11, 2023, and their appeal was dismissed by the sessions court on August 6 this year.

On August 13, a non-bailable warrant was issued by the MP-MLA court against Singh, Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Anoop Sanda and four others.

On Thursday, the Bench of Justice K S Pawar passed the order on a revision petition filed by Singh, challenging the special court’s January 11, 2023, order which was also confirmed in appeal by the sessions court on August 6.

“Till further orders of this court, execution of the sentence awarded by the judgment and orders under revision shall remain stayed,” the bench said while admitting the petition for final hearing.

The bench said the revisionist—Singh—will have to furnish a personal bond of Rs 50,000 to the satisfaction of the special court, with an undertaking that he or his counsel shall appear before it when the revision petition is listed for hearing.

Passing the order, the judge said, “Prima facie, the ingredients of sections 143 and 341, IPC are missing and the judgments of both the courts below are perverse.”

The special court had convicted Singh under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 143 (being member of unlawful assembly) and 341 (wrongfully restraining any person).

Representing Singh in the high court, senior counsel and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader S C Mishra argued that the testimony of the prosecution witnesses falsified the prosecution case.

“Singh has falsely been roped in a few other criminal cases due to political vendetta,” Mishra said.