SC grants bail to MLA Abbas Ansari in money laundering case
New Delhi, Oct 18: The Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to MLA Abbas Ansari in connection with a money laundering case registered with the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Ansari is the son of gangster-politician and former MLA Mukhtar Ansari, who died in jail a few months ago.
A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and Pankaj Mithal gave the relief to Ansari.
The apex court had on August 14 issued notice to the ED and sought its reply on the appeal filed by Ansari challenging an order of the Allahabad High Court, which rejected his bail.
Another bench of the top court had granted bail to Ansari in a separate case registered against him for allegedly using his wife's cellphone during her jail visit, to threaten the witnesses and officials, who were connected to the prosecution against him.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan had said the investigation had culminated in a chargesheet.
"Having regard to the fact that the investigation is complete, chargesheet has already been filed and the petitioner has been in custody for more than 1.5 years in the instant case. Keeping in view the fact that the conclusion of trial will take some reasonable time, however, without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, the petitioner is directed to be released on bail subject to his furnishing bail bonds to the satisfaction of the trial court," the bench said.
Ansari was lodged in Chitrakoot District Jail when his wife along with the driver and co-accused Niyaz visited him and he allegedly used a cellphone to threaten witnesses and extort money.
In the ED case, the high court had dismissed Ansari's bail plea on May 9.
The agency had registered a case against Ansari, a Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party MLA, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, on the basis of three previous cases.
Ansari was booked in this case on November 4, 2022.
The Mau MLA is currently lodged in the Kasganj Jail.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
