Allahabad High Court Seeks Personal Presence Of DM, SSP & SHO For 'Sheer Misuse' Of Gangsters Act

The Allahabad High Court last week took strong exception to the repeated and arbitrary invocation of the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986, against a man, allegedly to keep him inside the jail. Terming the imposition of the Gangsters Act as a 'sheer misuse of law', a bench of Justice Arun Kumar Singh Deshwal directed the concerned District Magistrate, Senior Superintendent of Police and the Station House Officer to personally appear before it to explain their 'misconduct and negligence'. With this, the bench also granted bail to the accused (Manshad @ Sona) in connection with a case registered under Section 2/3 of the Gangsters Act. Before the bench, it was submitted on behalf of the applicant that the Gangsters Act had been invoked against him on the basis of old cases that were already in existence and could have been relied upon during the previous occasion too, when the Act was imposed. It was contended that this reflected a deliberate strategy to misuse the law in order to prolong his incarceration. Lastly, it was contended that the applicant has been languishing in jail since May 2025, and in case, he is granted bail, he will not misuse the liberty of bail and will cooperate in the trial proceedings. When queried by the bench about the submissions of the counsel for the applicant, the AGA could not explain the reason as to why the Gangsters Act was being repeatedly imposed on the basis of old cases. Finding clear arbitrariness in the matter, the Court remarked that the conduct of the SHO reflected 'sheer misuse' of the Act. It added that the SSP and DM had also failed in their statutory duty to apply their mind before approving the action, as required under Rule 5(3)(a) of the UP Gangsters Rules, 2021. “This shows not only arbitrariness on the part of the SHO, but also sheer negligence on the part of the SSP and District Magistrate, Muzaffarnagar, who are required to apply their minds at the time of conducting the joint meeting,” the Court observed as it granted bail to the accused. Furthermore, stressing that such mechanical and repeated use of the Gangsters Act violates both judicial directions and recent guidelines issued by the State in compliance with the Supreme Court's judgment in Gorakh Nath Mishra vs. State of UP, the Court summoned the concerned officials on the next date of listing to explain their misconduct and negligence. It may be noted that the Supreme Court has, in recent times, expressed serious concern over the arbitrary invocation of the Gangsters Act. In fact, in 2024, the top court directed the Uttar Pradesh Government to consider the desirability of formulating specific parameters or guidelines governing the invocation of the provisions of the Act. Pursuant to this direction, the State Government issued certain instructions along with a detailed checklist on December 2, 2024. These guidelines were subsequently adopted and given legal enforceability by the Supreme Court itself in a recent case involving SHUATS University Director Vinod Bihari Lal. The bench also directed the authorities strictly follow the guidelines. Key directions issued by the state government in relation to the Act could be read here.Case title - Manshad @ Sona vs. State of U.PCase citation : Click Here To Read/Download Order

Allahabad High Court Seeks Personal Presence Of DM, SSP & SHO For 'Sheer Misuse' Of Gangsters Act

Sparsh Upadhyay

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