SC seeks UP government report on assault on businessman by ex-MP

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday took note of an alleged incident of former Samajwadi Party lawmaker Atiq Ahmed kidnapping a businessman in a jail in Uttar Pradesh and assaulting and forcing him to transfer his business.

A bench comprising Justices L Nageswara Rao and S K Kaul considered the alleged incident and asked the Uttar Pradesh government to file a status report within a week.

The top court was hearing a PIL filed by lawyer and BJP leader Ashwini Upadhyay seeking a life ban on politicians convicted in criminal cases besides the setting up of special courts to expeditiously try cases involving elected representatives.

The Uttar Pradesh administration recently raided the Deoria jail where Ahmed was lodged after real estate dealer Mohit Jaiswal filed an FIR on December 28 alleging that he was kidnapped from Lucknow and taken to the prison where he was assaulted by the jailed don and his aides and was forced to transfer his business to them.

Senior advocate Vijay Hansaria, who is assisting the bench as an amicus curiae along with advocate Sneha Kalita, and Ashwini Upadhyay told the court that there were over 20 heinous cases pending against the former MP and still he had the audacity to kidnap the businessman into the jail.

Lucknow-based realtor Jaiswal alleged that he was tortured and forced to transfer five of his firms in the names of former lawmaker and his jailed son.

The combined assets of the firms were worth Rs 45 crore, the FIR said, adding that Atiq also took away Jaiswal’s car and other belongings before releasing him. Later, the state government ordered shifting of the former MP to Bareilly district jail.