SC allows gangster-turned-politician's son to attend 'Fatiha'

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed jailed MLA Abbas Ansari to attend 'fatiha' or special prayers, under police custody, on April 10, following the death of his father Mukhtar Ansari.

The court also allowed him to meet his family on April 11 and 12.

The Uttar Pradesh government counsel vehemently opposed Ansari’s plea before a bench of Justices Surya Kant and K V Viswanathan.

He is behind bars for heinous crimes and the state government has no information of any ritual scheduled on April 10, the counsel said

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal for Ansari asked the court to grant his client interim bail to attend the bereavement in the family and allow him to be with them for a couple of days and then he will go back to the jail.

Sibal said his father passed away under different circumstances.

Opposing interim bail for Ansari, the UP government insisted that there is no ceremony on April 10 or for next four-five days.

He was shifted from Chitrakoot jail to Kasganj jail, as he had created a gang in Chitrakoot and he was leading the gang from within the jail. He is a history sheeter and there is no ground to give him any relief. Family members were permitted to attend post-mortem and the state did not interfere.

Sibal pressed that his client should be allowed to attend fatiha and spend a couple of days with family.

The bench said that the state can ensure that restrictions are put, rather than saying that he is not entitled.

"The petitioner could not attend the funeral (of his father), as he was in judicial custody, we see no reason to not allow the petitioner to attend the fatiha ritual, which is fixed for tomorrow. The petitioner shall be taken from Kasganj jail to his home town Ghazipur under the police custody and adequate security,” the bench said.

“The petitioner is allowed to participate in the ritual tomorrow in police custody and after the ritual is over tomorrow, the petitioner should be temporarily shifted to Ghazipur jail. Meanwhile, the administration should verify if there are other rituals to take place on April 11 onwards.The petitioner should be allowed to participate in such rituals while in police custody. If there are no rituals, the petitioner is allowed to meet his family members and relatives on April 11 and 12," the bench said.

The bench said police authorities are directed to frisk visitors and ensure that no weapons are carried by anyone either at Ansari’s parental residence or at the ritual’s place. The court said Ansari should be brought back to the Kasganj jail on April 13, 2024.

On March 28, gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari died of cardiac arrest at a hospital in Banda in Uttar Pradesh.

On March 30, Ansari, a five-time MLA from Mau Sadar constituency, was laid to rest in Ghazipur amid a blanket of security as a large crowd took part in the funeral procession. He had over 60 criminal cases against him.