Allahabad HC - An alarming number of criminals reach State Assembly and parliament - effective measures are required

Case: Atul Kumar Singh Alias Atul Rai v State of UP

Court: Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court 

The Allahabad High Court denied bail to Atul Rai, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Member of Parliament (MP), concerning an abetment of the suicide case of a woman who killed herself outside the Top Court last year. While refusing to grant bail, the HC said that an alarming number of criminals reach State Assembly and parliament. Effective measures are required to wean away criminals from politics.

BACKGROUND

Atul Rai and his co-accused were charged with abetment of the suicide of a rape victim and her friend, who set themselves on fire outside the Apex Court gates on August 16 last year and died as a result. The 24-year-old victim accused Atul of committing rape on her in 2019. 

The single bench observed that Rai had 23 criminal cases and these included cases of rape, kidnapping, murder, and other heinous offenses.

OBSERVATIONS

In this regard, the Court noted that it was unfortunate and ironic that 43 percent of Lok Sabha members elected in the 2019 general elections had criminal cases pending against them. No one can dispute the fact that present-day politics is involved in crime, patronage, muscle, and money, and it is a serious threat to democratic values.

The HC said that earlier ‘Bahubalis’ and other criminals used to provide support to candidates for election on various considerations, but now criminals themselves were entering politics. Therefore, it is the parliament's responsibility to demonstrate its collective will to prevent criminals from entering politics.

Regarding the case at hand, the court said that even though Rai's co-accused had been granted bail by the court, his case was different, and considering all the circumstances, bail was denied.