Allahabad High Court
Case Details
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD APPLICATION U/S 528 BNSS No. - 34865 of 2025 Shafi Qureshi @ Mohd. Safeer Kuraishi State of U.P. and Another Versus .....Applicant(s) .....Opposite Party(s) Counsel for Applicant(s) Counsel for Opposite Party(s) : Hina Shafiq, Rizwan Ahmad(Qureshi) : G.A. Court No. - 77
Legal Reasoning
HON'BLE SAURABH SRIVASTAVA, J. 1. Heard learned counsel for applicant and learned AGA for the State- respondent. 2. The present application has been preferred challenging the chargesheet dated 12.11.2020 and cognizance/summoning order dated 13.01.2021 as well as entire criminal proceedings of G.T. No.04 of 2021 (State Vs. Naseem and others), arising out of Case Crime No.56 of 2020, under Section 3(1) of U.P. Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986, Police Station Mehnagar, District Azamgarh, pending in the court of learned Special Judge (Gangster Act), Azamgarh. 3. While challenging the entire proceedings of the present case along with chargesheet and cognizance order, learned counsel for applicant has submitted that applicant has been falsely implicated in the present case only on the basis of solitary case bearing Case Crime No.193 of 2019, under Section 3/5A/8 of Cow Slaughter Act and Section 11 of Animal Cruelty Act. 5. Per contra, learned AGA vehemently opposed the prayer sought through the instant petition and rebutted the stands taken up by learned counsel for applicant by way of submitting that on the basis of single case, provisions of Gangster Act can be invoked. 6. After having the rival contentions raised by learned counsel for parties as well as perusal of the records, it would be appropriate to quote Section 2(b) and (c) of the Act 1986 which defines the gang which is hereinbelow:- 2 NA528 No. 34865 of 2025 "'Gang' means a group of persons, who acting either singly or collectively, by violence, or threat or show of violence, or intimidation, or coercion or otherwise with the object of disturbing public order or of gaining any undue temporal, pecuniary, material or other advantage for himself or any other person, indulge in anti- social activities. namely: (i) offences punishable under Chapter XVI, or Chapter XVII, or Chapter XXII of the Indian Penal Code (Act No. 45 of 1860), or (ii) distilling or manufacturing or storing or transporting or importing or exporting or selling or distributing any liquor, or intoxicating or dangerous drugs, or other intoxicants or narcotics or cultivating any plant, in contravention of any of the provisions of the U. P. Excise Act, 1910 (U. P. Act No. 4 of 1910), or the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (Act No. 61 of 1985), or any other law for the time being in force, or (iii) occupying or taking possession of immovable property otherwise than in accordance with law, or setting-up false claims for title or possession of immovable property whether in himself or any other person, or (iv) preventing or attempting to prevent any public servant or any witness from discharging his lawful duties, or (v) offences punishable under the Suppression of Immoral Traffic in Women and Girls Act, 1956 (Act No. 104 of 1956), or (vi) offences punishable under Section 3 of the Public Gambling Act, 1867 (Act No. 3 of 1867), or (vii) preventing any person from offering bids in auction lawfully conducted, or tender, lawfully invited, by or on behalf of any Government department, local body or public or private undertaking, for any lease or rights or supply of goods or work to be done, or (viii) preventing or disturbing the smooth running by any person of his lawful business, profession, trade or employment or any other lawful activity connected therewith, or (ix) offences punishable under Section 171-E of the Indian Penal Code (Act No. 45 of 1860), or in preventing or obstructing any public election being lawfully held, by physically preventing the voter from exercising his electoral rights, or (x) inciting others to resort to violence to disturb communal harmony, or (xi) creating panic, alarm or terror in public, or (xii) terrorising or assaulting employees or owners or occupiers of public or private undertakings or factories and causing mischief in respect of their properties, or (xiii) inducing or attempting to induce any person to go to foreign countries on false representation that any employment, trade or profession shall be provided to him in such foreign country, or (xiv) kidnapping or abducting any person with intent to extort ransom, or (xv) diverting or otherwise preventing any aircraft or public transport vehicle from following its scheduled course; (xvi) offences punishable under the Regulation of Money Lending Act, 1976; (xvii) illegally transporting and/or smuggling of cattle and indulging in acts in contravention of the provisions in the Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act, 1955 and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960; 3 NA528 No. 34865 of 2025 (xviii) human trafficking for purposes of commercial exploitation, bonded labour, child labour, sexual exploitation, organ removing and trafficking, beggary and the like activities. (xix) offences punishable under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1966: (xx) printing, transporting and circulating of fake Indian currency notes; (xxi) involving in production, sale and distribution of spurious drugs; (xxii) involving in manufacture, sale and transportation of arms and ammunition in contravention of Sections 5, 7 and 12 of the Arms Act, 1959; (xxiii) felling or killing for economic gains, smuggling of products in contravention of the Indian Forest Act, 1927 and Wildlife Protection Act, 1972; (xxiv) offences punishable under the Entertainment and Betting Tax Act, 1979; (xxv) indulging in crimes that impact security of State, public order and even tempo of life. (c) "gangster" means a member or leader or organiser of a gang and includes any person who abets or assists in the activities of a gang enumerated in clause (b), whether before or after the commission of such activities or harbours any person who has indulged in such activities;" 9. In the case in hand, the base case which has been shown against applicant, comes under (xvii) of Section 2(b) of the Act and as, it cannot be said that applicant does not fall within the ambit of 'Gang'. In sofar as the argument of learned counsel for applicant that on the bases of solitary case, applicant cannot be implicated in the present case, is concerned, the said argument is not sustainable since Hon'ble the Apex Court in the case of Shraddha Gupta v. State of U.P., (2022) 19 SCC 57, already held that provisions of Gangster Act can be invoked against an accused on the base of solitary case if it is found that the accused is a member of a 'Gang' and has indulged in any of the anti-social activities mentioned in Section 2(b) of the Gangsters Act, such as, by violence, or threat or show of violence, or intimidation, or coercion or otherwise with the object of disturbing public order or of gaining any undue temporal, pecuniary, material or other advantage for himself or any other person and he/she can be termed as 'Gangster' within the definition of Section 2(c) of the Act, he/she can be prosecuted for the offences under the Gangsters Act. 10. In view of the aforesaid facts and circumstances, the present application being devoid of merit, is, accordingly, dismissed. September 11, 2025 Vivek Kr. (Saurabh Srivastava,J.) Digitally signed by :- VIVEK KUMAR High Court of Judicature at Allahabad