New Delhi [India], February 21 : The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Uttar Pradesh Police to submit a status report on the investigation of MLA Abbas Ansari's Gangsters Act case, within ten days.
A Bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh also asked the concerned Investigating Officer (IO) of the UP Police to expedite the probe against the Mau MLA.
The court was hearing the bail plea of MLA Abbas Ansari. Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Ansari, informed the court that his client has been in custody for five months without being remanded, while the investigation in the case has remained stagnant.
Sibal further pointed out that Ansari had been granted bail in all other pending cases against him and urged the court to consider releasing him on bail before the start of Ramzan on March 1.
After hearing the submissions, the court stated that it would review Ansari's bail plea after the status report in the case is submitted.
Earlier, on January 31, the court sought the UP government's response to Ansaris' bail plea and directed it to file a counter affidavit within two weeks.
Ansari, MLA from UP's Mau constituency, was booked in August last year under the provisions of the UP Gangsters Act for allegedly forming a gang to extort money from people and for other unlawful financial gains.
In December, the Allahabad High Court refused to grant bail to Ansari by observing that there were various cases registered against him and there were chances of him tampering with the evidence.
He moved the Supreme Court, challenging the High Court's decision.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal appeared for Ansari, while ASC KM Nataraj represented the State of Uttar Pradesh.