The Allahabad High Court has declined to dismiss the FIR that a current MLA filed against the BYJM Chief regarding events that occurred after the violence in Bahraich.
The Allahabad High Court decided not to dismiss an FIR filed by a current MLA against the BYJM Chief for creating a disturbance following the death of his cousin-in-law during the Bahraich violence. The Court was reviewing Writ Petitions from individuals accused of obstructing the District administration’s duties after the violence. Justices Sangeeta Chandra and Mohd. Faiz Alam Khan stated, “we do not see the second FIR, filed on 18.10.2024 and challenged in these petitions, as part of the same event. It pertains to a later occurrence, and the sections of the B.N.S. cited are different and do not connect to the same incident or the same individuals.”
The Petitioner claimed that the sitting MLA of Mahasi Constituency, whom he had previously criticized as a journalist, lodged a false FIR against him due to personal hatred. He asserted that he only attended a protest near a medical college after his cousin-in-law’s death to accompany the body for a post-mortem. He argued that the MLA influenced the FIR, which was filed eight days after the incident, alleging that Pandey fired a shot in the air—a claim he denies, stating that the MLA aimed to revoke his gun license.
The Court observed that the first FIR filed by the police was about general details of an incident during the immersion of Devi Durga idols. In this incident, one person was shot, leading to an angry crowd that vandalized shops belonging to another community by throwing stones and setting them on fire. In contrast, the FIR filed by the local MLA of Mahasi Constituency focused on a situation where the accused and others were protesting with the deceased’s body, preventing the District Administration and Police from performing their duties related to the autopsy. As a result, the Court dismissed the Petition.
Cause Title: Pundrik Kumar Pandey v. State Of U.P. (Neutral Citation: 2024:AHC-LKO:72485-DB)
