'Flight Risk; Father Already Fled Country': Allahabad HC Denies Bail To 2 Sons Of Mining 'Mafia' In Gangsters Act Case

The Allahabad High Court recently denied bail to two sons of Hazi Iqbal, also known as Balla, an alleged mining mafia in the Meerut region, in a case under the U.P. Gangster and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986. Hazi Iqbal, along with his sons (bail applicants), is accused of running an interstate criminal gang involved in various financial and corporeal crimes. A bench of Justice Krishan Pahal observed that following the initial FIR, additional FIRs have also been filed against the applicant and co-accused individuals, and thus, inference can be drawn against them. “The instant case does not seem to be a misuse of the act as the applicant has large criminal antecedents and he has committed offence subsequent to the institution of instant FIR also,” the Court remarked in two separate orders passed against the applicants (Javed and Alishan). Thus, the Court found no reasonable grounds to believe that applicants are not guilty of such an offence and are not likely to commit any offence in the future while on bail, as is required by Section 19(4) of the UP Gangsters Act. Importantly, the single judge also factored in that co-accused person Hazi Iqbal, who happens to be the applicants' father, has already fled the country and is residing in Dubai; as such, the applicants are a 'flight risk'. Thus, their bail pleas were rejected. The case in brief The applicant (Javed and Alishan) is facing an FIR alleging that the accused person, Hazi Iqbal, is the gang leader, and the applicant, along with five other named accused persons, is operating an interstate district gang which is involved in threatening the people to cause their death, extortion and extracting illegal money. The FIR also alleges that they are involved in the smuggling of wood, illegal mining and illegal possession of public land, and as such, have caused terror, fear and a sense of insecurity in the public at large. Seeking bail in the case, the counsel for the applicants argued that the instant FIR was just a misuse of the provisions of the Gangsters Act as the applicant had been implicated in the instant case only based on two cases mentioned in the gang chart. It was contended that the applicants, having been exonerated in one of the predicate offences and having been granted interim protection in another case, were entitled to bail in the instant case, as no case is made against them. On the other hand, the counsel for the state strongly argued that the bail application had been opposed on the ground that it is settled law that the bail or acquittal of the accused in the predicate offence does not entitle him to bail. It was also contended that the applicant is a flight risk as his father, Hazi Iqbal, has already fled the country and is the main accused person, and the applicant has acted in connivance and consonance with his father. However, considering the submissions of counsel for the parties, the nature of allegations, the gravity of the offence, and all the facts and circumstances of the case, the Court opined that it was not a fit case for bail. Hence, the bail applications of the applicants were rejected. Appearances Counsel for Applicant: Senior Advocate Manish Tiwari, assisted by Advocate Indra Bhan Yadav along with advocates Abhisht Jaiswal, Atharva Dixit, Bipin Kumar, Jai Prakash, Rizwan Ullah Siddiqui, Saurabh Sachan, Sudhir Kumar Agarwal Counsel for Opposite Party: Additional Advocate General Manish Goyal assisted by AGA Vikas Sahai Case title - Alishan vs. State of U.P. Case citation: Click here To Read/Download Order

'Flight Risk; Father Already Fled Country': Allahabad HC Denies Bail To 2 Sons Of Mining 'Mafia' In Gangsters Act Case

Sparsh Upadhyay

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