Seeks Govt Response In Wake Of SC Ruling
Lucknow: The Allahabad high court’s Lucknow bench has sought a response from the state govt in the wake of a recent Supreme Court ruling describing the UP Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986, as “stillborn”, observing that a person cannot be punished under a law that does not create an independent offence. The petitioners have pleaded that the SC had clarified that the Gangsters Act does not define any separate offence but provides definitions of a “gang” and a “gangster”, along with punishment based on a gang chart. The HC has stayed further proceedings under the Gangsters Act in six petitions till the next date of hearing. A single-judge bench of Justice Rajeev Singh passed the order while hearing six petitions filed by Bhimsen Singh alias Raju and others. The petitioners have challenged the proceedings initiated against them under the Gangsters Act, relying on the Supreme Court’s judgment in Shiv Pratap Singh alias Chinu vs State of UP. They argued that no person could be punished under the Act in the absence of an independently defined offence. The Supreme Court had quashed proceedings initiated under the Act in the cases before it. The petitioners referred to the SC’s decision in Jyoti Suri vs State of UP, claiming that proceedings had been quashed in its wake.
They further informed the court that a petition challenging the constitutional validity of the Gangsters Act, titled Irfan Solanki vs State of UP, was pending before the SC.
On behalf of the state govt, the additional govt advocate advised the petitioners to approach the trial court with discharge applications. However, he did not dispute either the SC’s judgment or the pendency of the Irfan Solanki matter.