Allahabad High Court Refuses To Quash Gangsters Act Proceedings Against Disqualified SP MLA Irfan Solanki

The Allahabad High Court last week dismissed an application filed by former Samajwadi Party MLA Irfan Solanki, seeking to quash the proceedings initiated against him under the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986. A bench of Justice Samit Gopal rejected his plea under Section 528 BNSS as it took into account the fact that the trial is at an advanced stage and that prima facie material is available against him.Solanki won the 2022 Assembly elections from the Sisamau constituency of Kanpur Nagar. He stood disqualified in June 2024 after an MP-MLA court of Kanpur Nagar sentenced Solanki to seven years' rigorous imprisonment in connection with an arson case of 2022. It may be noted that criminal proceedings are pending against Solanki before the Special Judge MP/MLA/Additional Sessions Judge, Kanpur Nagar. An FIR was lodged in December 2022, accusing him and four others of being part of an active gang involved in breaches of law and order and in committing offences under the IPC for financial gain.The prosecution alleged that the gang, led by Solanki, had attempted to forcibly occupy a plot owned by a woman by setting it ablaze. Solanki has already been convicted in the predicate arson case; however, an appeal against his conviction is presently pending.Meanwhile, he moved the present application seeking the quashing of the subsequent Gangsters Act proceedings, including the charge sheet and the order rejecting his discharge application. Senior Advocate Imran Ullah, appearing for Solanki, argued that the proceedings against him violate the UP Gangsters Rules, 2021, as there was no joint meeting held between the Commissioner of Police and the Additional Police Commissioner while giving approval to the Gang Chart.He also claimed that the chart's approval was done mechanically without the application of the mind by the authority. It was contended that there is a lack of independent assessment by the competent authority in forwarding the Gang Chart and there is a significant procedural lapse, as approvals have been accorded on a preprinted format of the Gang ChartHe relied heavily on the Supreme Court's recent judgment in Vinod Bihari Lal vs. State of Uttar Pradesh (2025) by arguing that approvals were granted on a "pre-printed format," which showed non-application of mind.On the other hand, the State, represented by Additional Advocate General Manish Goel, submitted that the Commissioner of Police had explicitly handwritten his satisfaction on the gang chart before approving it, thereby negating the claim of a mechanical process.Rejecting the contentions raised by Solanki's counsel, the bench noted that the orders taking cognisance and summoning cannot be looked into at this stage for the purpose of quashing, as the application for discharge was rejected by the trial court, subsequent to which a charge was framed against him and the co-accused. Insofar as the ground of violation of the 2021 Rules was concerned, the Single Judge noted that the Commissioner of Police concerned had given his opinion independently on it while approving the same. "It thus cannot be said that he merely signed on a pre-formatted gang chart while according approval. The applicant has been convicted in a case by the trial court concerned against which an appeal is pending before the High Court," the bench further noted.Against this backdrop, his petition was dismissed.Case title - Irfan Solanki vs. State of U.P. and another 2026 LiveLaw (AB) 52Case citation: 2026 LiveLaw (AB) 52Click Here to Read/Download Order

Allahabad High Court Refuses To Quash Gangsters Act Proceedings Against Disqualified SP MLA Irfan Solanki

Sparsh Upadhyay

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