The Supreme Court on Friday refused to quash an FIR lodged against gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari‘s son Umar Ansari in a case of hate speech during the poll campaign for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections in 2022.
A bench consisting of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and Pankaj Mithal said, “We will not be quashing the FIR in a case where the high court has declined the relief. You will have to face the trial.”
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The two brothers, Umar Ansari and Abbas Ansari, are facing criminal prosecution in the hate speech case.
Umar Ansari is charged with sharing the dais in a rally in Mau district where his brother allegedly threatened government officials with payback, reported news agency PTI.
Umar Ansari’s lawyer said, “A young boy will have to face the trial just because he took birth in that family. Moreover, the alleged remark was not made by him.”
In 2022, Abbas Ansari contested and won the polls from Uttar Pradesh as a candidate of the Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP)-Samajwadi Party alliance from Mau Sadar seat.
An FIR was lodged against the MLA, his brother Umar and others under Sections 171F (Punishment for undue influence or impersonation at an election rally and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Later, a charge sheet was filed against the accused after concluding the probe.
(With PTI Inputs)