SC grants anticipatory bail to Mukhtar Ansari's son Umar in evacuee property case

The Supreme Court on Monday (July 17) granted anticipatory bail to jailed gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari's son Umar Ansari in the case related to acquiring evacuee property in the Jiamau area of Uttar Pradesh. 

A bench of Justices A S Bopanna and M M Sundresh has also sought the UP government's response on the anticipatory bail plea filed by Umar Ansari challenging an order of the Allahabad High Court. 

Allahabad HC verdict 

A Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court had on April 13, dismissed Umar Ansari's plea seeking anticipatory bail in the case. The court also dismissed a plea of Mukhtar Ansari's other son Abbas Ansari, a Sadar MLA, seeking quashing of the charge sheet in the same case. The order was passed on two pleas moved independently by the Ansari brothers. 

It's alleged that Mukhtar and his sons fraudulently acquired an enemy property in the Jiamau area of Uttar Pradesh. A case in this regard was lodged at Hazratganj police station in August 2020. 

It was pleaded on behalf of the Ansari brothers that mutation of the property was in the name of their forefathers before their birth and hence, no offence was made out against them. 

The state counsel had opposed the plea, arguing that the duo was also accused of forging the signature of their grandmother and hence, a clear offence was made out against them.

What was the court's observation? 

The land belonged to a person migrated to Pakistan after the Partition of India. The property of the person, identified as  Mohammad Waseem, was registered as enemy property in the state government's record. A bench of the Allahabad High Court observed that Mukhtar Ansari and his sons used their influence to register the property in their names.