The Allahabad High Court has granted interim relief to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Member of Parliament Sanjay Singh, stating that he is not required to surrender before a Sultanpur court until Thursday. The order comes in connection with a 2001 case involving a street protest, for which Singh and others were convicted earlier this year.
The high court confirmed that it would hear Singh’s bail plea on Thursday, along with a related revision plea. The interim order was issued by Justice K.S. Pawar on Wednesday, in response to an urgent request from Singh’s legal team, who cited his need to attend a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) meeting on Thursday.
The court’s order temporarily halts any proceedings initiated by the Sultanpur court, including the requirement for Singh to surrender. “The accused revisionist is not required to surrender before the trial court until the case is heard,” the order stated. The high court further noted that any process issued by the trial court will remain on hold until Thursday.
Sanjay Singh, along with five others, was convicted by a Sultanpur court on January 11, 2023, related to a protest over power supply issues in Sultanpur’s Sabzi Mandi area on June 19, 2001. The sessions court dismissed their appeal on August 6, 2023, prompting Singh to seek relief from the high court.
The state counsel argued that Singh’s revision plea was not maintainable, as the sessions court had ordered him to appear before the trial court on August 9 to begin serving his sentence. However, Singh did not surrender, leading to the issuance of a non-bailable warrant against him and the other accused by the MP-MLA court in Sultanpur on August 13.
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The accused, including Samajwadi Party leader Anoop Sanda, failed to appear before the Sultanpur court for a scheduled hearing on Tuesday, which led the local court to direct the police to arrest and produce them by August 28.
