1996 Assault Case: Allahabad High Court Stays Conviction Of Actor & Congress Leader Raj Babbar

The Allahabad High Court (Lucknow bench) on Friday stayed the conviction of actor and Congress politician Raj Babbar in connection with a 1996 case lodged against him for allegedly assaulting a polling officer when he was contesting the Lok Sabha election from Lucknow (then) as a Samajwadi Party candidate. The order was passed by a bench of Justice Mohd. Faiz Alam Khan on a plea moved by Babbar under Section 389(2) CrPC challenging an order of conviction passed by a Lucknow MP/MLA court in July 2022 wherein he was sentenced to two years in jail. As per the prosecution's case, on May 2, 1996, polling officer Shri Krishna Singh Rana lodged a report in a police station against Babbar and others alleging that Babbar, then an SP Candidate, came to the polling booth wherein he and his associates beat up the complainant and Shiv Kumar Singh. After the lodging of the FIR, the police investigated the matter and thereafter, filed a charge sheet against Babbar and others under sections 143, 332, 353, 323, 504, 188 IPC, Representation of the People Act, and 7 Criminal Law Amendment Act. Subsequently, the Lucknow MP/MLA court found Babbar guilty of assaulting government officers and preventing them from discharging their official duties and hence, he was convicted under Sections 143, 332, 353 and 323 IPC. Challenging his conviction, Babbar moved the Court to argue that the FIR was lodged on the basis of false and concocted facts, a tainted investigation was done and without there being sufficient material/evidence against the applicant, the charge sheet was submitted. His counsel also submitted that the star witnesses of the alleged crime were also unreliable so far as Babbar's role in the alleged crime is concerned, and despite this, the trial court had convicted the applicant. Importantly, it was also argued that a political party with which the applicant is affiliated is seriously considering his candidature for Member of Parliament in the upcoming Parliamentary General Elections-2024 and if his conviction is not stayed, he would be deprived of his constitutional right to participate in the General Election, without any fault of him. Taking into account the testimonies of the two-star witnesses of the case, the Court noted that they were not assaulted by Babbar and in fact, Babbar had intervened to rescue them and got the matter subsided. The HC further called it surprising that while convicting Babbar under Section 143 IPC for being part of unlawful assembly, the trial court, without framing any charge U/s 149 IPC convicted him for committing substantive offences under Sections 323, 353 and 332 IPC, as if the applicant himself participated in the incident of assault without convicting him vicariously, with the help of Section 149 IPC However, refraining from discussing anything further so far as the factual matrix of the case is concerned, the Court stressed that the trial court should have considered the evidence given by the two injured persons, in the correct perspective. Consequently, while granting an opportunity to file a counter affidavit/objection to the State having regard to the urgency shown by the applicant, which the court considered to be genuine, his conviction was stayed/suspended, during the pendency of this application. With this, the State is provided with an opportunity to file a counter affidavit/objection within three weeks, the Court listed the matter for hearing on 1st May 2024. Appearances Counsel for Applicant: Gaurav Mehrotra, Satendra Kumar (Singh), Nadeem Murtaza assisted by Advocates Abhinit Jaiswal, Shri Wali Nawaz Khan and Abhishek Mishra Counsel for Opposite Party: AGA-I Rajesh Kumar Singh Case title - Raj Babbar vs. State Of U.P. Thru. Prin. Secy. Home, Deptt Govt. Of U.P. Civil Sectt. Lko 2024 LiveLaw (AB) 200 Case citation: 2024 LiveLaw (AB) 200 Click Here To Read/Download Order

1996 Assault Case: Allahabad High Court Stays Conviction Of Actor & Congress Leader Raj Babbar

Sparsh Upadhyay

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