In a significant legal turn, the Allahabad High Court has approved the Uttar Pradesh government’s request to withdraw a criminal case against BJP leader and former Lok Sabha member Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. This decision comes after Singh was accused of violating a restraint order by holding a public meeting in 2014.
Justice Rajesh Singh Chauhan of the Lucknow bench delivered the ruling, stating that the public prosecutor’s application under Section 321 of the erstwhile Criminal Procedure Code (Cr.P.C.) filed on November 3, 2020, shall be deemed approved. This move effectively dismisses the charges against Singh and terminates the proceedings related to this case.
Singh was originally charged under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), among other sections, for defying the official orders. Following a police investigation, a charge sheet was filed against him. However, in a shift of stance, the state government decided in 2020 that it would withdraw the case, citing reasons not disclosed in the public domain.
The order passed by a Gonda court previously rejecting the state’s plea to withdraw the charges had been a setback for Singh. His challenge to this decision in the High Court has now been vindicated with this latest ruling.
