A special court in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, on Thursday refused the state government’s plea to withdraw two cases against Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Umesh Malik citing a Supreme Court order, reported PTI. On August 9, the Supreme Court had ordered that criminal cases against legislators cannot be withdrawn without the permission of the High Courts of the states.
Malik, the MLA from Budhana, surrendered before the court on Thursday and sought to recall the non-bailable warrant issued against him. The police had booked the MLA, along with other citizens, under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 147 (punishment for rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with a deadly weapon) and 149 (unlawful assembly).
The accused people had held a demonstration outside a meat factory in Muzaffarnagar district in 2006. District government counsel Narendra Sharma said that another related case was filed against Malik at Shahpur police station in 2001, reported The Indian Express.
The Supreme Court’s directive that the Muzaffarnagar court cited came on August 9 on suggestions of Amicus Curiae Vijay Hansaria. The amicus curiae had submitted a report highlighting instances in which state governments had issued orders to withdraw cases against elected representatives under section 321 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
The section allows a public prosecutor in charge of a case to move a request before the trial judge for permission to withdraw further prosecution. If the trial judge accepts the request, the accused is acquitted or discharged if charges are not framed.
One of the instances in the report were related to the Uttar Pradesh government where it was seeking to withdraw prosecutions against the accused in the Muzaffarnagar riots cases, including MLAs Sangeet Som, Suresh Rana, Kapil Dev and Vishva Hindu Parishad leader Prachi.
On Wednesday, Hansaria told the Supreme Court that the Uttar Pradesh government has withdrawn 77 cases related to the Muzaffarnagar riots without giving any reasons, reported Live Law. Some of these cases attract punishment of a life term.
The amicus curiae suggested that the Allahabad High Court can examine the cases by exercising “revisional jurisdiction”.
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