In a significant move, Abbas Ansari, the son of the late Mukhtar Ansari, has petitioned the Supreme Court seeking permission to attend his father’s Fateha. Mukhtar Ansari, a former gangster turned politician, passed away due to a heart attack on March 28th at a medical college in Banda, where he had been incarcerated for an extended period. Known as the ‘Don’ of Purvanchal, Mukhtar had been a prominent figure in the region’s political and criminal landscape.
The Fateha, a prayer meeting for the deceased, is scheduled for April 10th. Abbas, who is currently detained in Kasganj jail in Uttar Pradesh on arms license charges, was unable to attend his father’s burial on March 30th in Mohammadabad’s Kalibagh cemetery in Ghazipur district. This inability to participate in his father’s final rites has led Abbas to seek judicial intervention to be present at the Fateha.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal mentioned Abbas Ansari’s petition in the Supreme Court, indicating that he will be presenting the arguments on behalf of the legislator. The Supreme Court issued a notice to the Uttar Pradesh government on April 5th, asking for a response to Abbas’s request.
The justices, Suryakant and Sandeep Mehta, were informed during the hearing that an earlier petition for Abbas to attend the burial had been filed but could not be listed in time, preventing his participation. The counsel for Abbas was granted permission to amend the petition to seek permission for attending the Fateha scheduled for April 10th. The Supreme Court has set April 9th for the hearing of Abbas’s petition.
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Mukhtar Ansari had a long and controversial career, with over 60 criminal cases registered against him. He served as the MLA for Mau Sadar five times and spent around 17 years in various jails across Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. Following his death, his family alleged that he was being slowly poisoned in Banda jail, a claim that the administration has denied.
