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The Allahabad High Court on Monday denied bail to Ex- MLA Mokhtar Ansari in a case registered over misappropriation of "Vidhayak Nidhi" (MLA Fund). Court said that the allegations against Ansari are heinous in nature and such crimes, by no stretch of imagination, can be regarded as jejune.

A bench of Justice Rahul Chaturvedi noted, "Such cases do create a thunder and lightning having the effect potentiality of torrential rain in an analytical mind."

It was further noted that it was indeed an astounding and more amusing angle of the issue that a person having more than 50+ criminal cases to his credit of various varieties, managed his affairs in such a way that he did not received a single conviction order against him. "In fact, it is slur and challenge to the judicial system that such a dreaded and ‘White Collored’ criminal in the field of crime undefeated and unabetted," Court observed. 

The bench was hearing the bail application filed by Ansari in a case lodged under Sections 419, 420, 467, 468, 471, and 120B of the Indian Penal Code. The allegations are that, Ansari allocated Rs. 25 Lakhs from "Vidhayak Nidhi" (MLA fund) for the construction of a School, wherein it was found that the money was not used properly.

It was also alleged that the amount was disbursed for constructing the school namely, ‘Guru Jagdish Singh Baijnath Pahalwan Uchhatar Madhyamik Vidyalaya, Sarwan’ in three installments from year 2012 to 2015. However, the accused persons conspired in sending a forged proposal and getting an agricultural plot allotted in the name of wife of Baijnath Yadav, over which the proposed school was to be constructed.

Over the inquiry, it was found that there was no school above the land having an area of 0.032 hect which was encircled by a boundary wall whereas in the remaining part there was a banana grove over it. Similarly, on another land having an area of 0.196 hect standing crops of wheat were found and as such the entire sum of public money to the tune of Rs. 25 Lakhs were swindled and digested by the named accused persons.

The bench opined, "The applicant deserves no introduction in the State of U.P. on account of his alleged ‘Robin Hood’ image in Hindi speaking States of India. He is the hardened and habitual offender, who is in the sphere of crime since 1986 but surprisingly, he has managed not a single conviction against him."

Court further noted that Advocate Upendra Upadhyay before going into the merits of the case tried to glorify the character of Ansari sky-high by making a mention that Ansari was born in the year 1964, now he is 58 years of age and a popular and dashing political figure of Eastern UP.

The bench said, "The “Vidhayak Nidhi” is not a private fiefdom of any M.L.A. or his personal property. It is hard earned money of the tax payers and cannot be permitted to utilize or drain in a casual and capricious way."

"The M.L.A. are not monarch or king of that area, who can throw away or whimsically distribute the “Vidhayak Nidhi” as larges," the bench added.

Over the enhancement of "Vidhayak Nidhi" to the tune of Rs. 5 Crores, Justice Chaturvedi opined that the Court got no objection in raising the amount but expects from the Government to at least have a double check valve in its disbursement and utilization only for “public good”.

Further, taking note of the criminal antecedents of Ansari, the bench observed that at present Ansari is under trial in as many as 21 criminal cases in the various Sessions Division at Mau, Ghazipur, Varanasi, Azamgarh, Lucknow, Barabanki, Agra and Mataur, Roop Nagar (Punjab). Thus, it is clear that he is the blooded, harden, habitual offender against whom number of criminal cases are pending, Court said. 

"This is a most unfortunate and ugly face of our democracy where a person on one hand facing almost two dozen Sessions Trials and on the other hand the public is electing him as their representative for six consecutive times," Justice Chaturvedi said.

The bench, relying on the judgment in the case of  Neeru Yadav, denied bail to Ansari while stating that "the 'Vidhayak Nidhi' is hard-earned money of taxpayers and no body is authorized for having moral or legal guts to misutilize the amount for his own use or for any other clandestine purpose."

In addition to this, the bench requested the Uttar Pradesh Government to constitute a committee under the leadership of the Speaker of Assembly with three senior bureaucrats to audit the “ Vidhayak Nidhi” of individual MLA and its utilization. "Reckless distribution of  'Vidhayak Nidhi' by unscrupulous MLA are causing more harm to the society and subject matter resentment among the masses," the bench added.

Case Title: Mokhtar Ansari Vs. State of UP