High court: UP Police can't arrest Abbas Ansari

Lucknow: The Lucknow bench of Allahabad high court on Saturday restrained Uttar Pradesh Police from arresting Abbas Ansari, son of jailed don-turned-politician and BSP MLA from Mau, Mukhtar Ansari, in connection with recovery of arms from his Vasant Kunj residence in Delhi.

A division bench of Justice Shabihul Hasnain and Justice Rekha Dikshit passed the interim order on the writ petition of Abbas.

The court directed the state government to file counter affidavit in the matter in three weeks.

The petitioner’s lawyer Siddharth Sinha submitted before the bench that the FIR was not sustainable in UP on the ground of lack of territorial jurisdiction as the matter pertained to Delhi.

He further pleaded that no banned arm was recovered and those found were issued after obtaining due legal permissions.

Considering the facts of the case, the bench prima facie found that there was no need to arrest Abbas in the case.

On October 12, Lucknow police registered a case in Mahanagar police station against Abbas for violating arms act, charging him for keeping 10 firearms including rifles, pistols and revolvers.

Police said firearm license was issued to Abbas on his Nishatganj, Lucknow, address in 2012, but he moved to Delhi in 2015 and got his license transferred to Delhi without informing Lucknow police.

After lodging FIR, a joint team of Delhi and Lucknow policemen raided his house in Delhi and seized firearms and bullets.