Mukhtar Ansari convicted for threatening jailer for life, pointing gun at him; sentenced to 7 years in jail

The Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court on Wednesday convicted former MLA Mukhtar Ansari and sentenced him to seven years in prison for intimidating a Jailer who was performing public duty by abusing him and pointing a revolver/pistol toward him, and threatening to kill him in the year 2003.

Justice DK Singh passed the order while allowing an appeal by the Uttar Pradesh government. The court set aside the acquittal order passed in favour of Ansari by a Sessions court in the year 2020 as it noted that the approach of the trial court in evaluating the evidence before it was “palpably erroneous”.

The case dates to 2003 when Lucknow district prison jailer SK Awasthi lodged an FIR with Alambagh police alleging that he was threatened for ordering a search of the people who came to meet Ansari in prison.

Awasthi also alleged that Ansari had pointed a pistol at him while abusing him. A trial court acquitted Ansari in this case, but the government filed an appeal.

The court found him guilty under sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of duty), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).