The Allahabad High Court has granted bail to former Samajwadi Party MLA Irfan Solanki and his brother Rizwan Solanki in a 2022 extortion case. The case, registered at the Jajmau police station in Kanpur Nagar, accused the brothers of attempting to extort Rs 10 lakh from Akeel Ahmad, a social worker, under threats of grievous harm, in a bid to seize land owned by impoverished locals.
Justice Raj Beer Singh, while delivering the bail order, noted that Irfan Solanki had already spent over two years in detention. He highlighted Solanki’s extensive criminal record, including nine prior cases and another nine that followed the incident. However, the judge referenced a 2020 Supreme Court ruling, stating that the mere presence of multiple criminal cases against an individual does not justify the denial of bail.
In his ruling, Justice Singh stated, “The applicant has previous criminal history of nine cases and after this case he was shown involved in nine more cases. In the case of Prabhakar Tewari Vs State of UP 2020 (11) SCC 648, the Supreme Court has observed that pendency of several criminal cases against an accused may itself not be a basis for refusal of bail. Considering the nature of the accusations coupled with the argument that no case under section 386 IPC, and the period of detention, the bail application is not liable to be rejected merely on the ground of criminal history and conviction.”
The defense counsel, Imran Ullah, argued that the Solanki brothers were wrongfully implicated due to political enmity, emphasizing that Irfan was serving as an MLA at the time of the alleged incident.
Despite being granted bail in this case, both Irfan and Rizwan Solanki will remain in custody due to other pending criminal proceedings. Irfan Solanki, a four-time MLA from Sishamau in Kanpur, was previously sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment in connection with a 2022 arson case, which also led to his disqualification from the Uttar Pradesh assembly.
