The Punjab government has refused to hand over the MLA and Mafia don Mukhtar Ansari currently lodged in the Rupnagar jail to the Uttar Pradesh government. The UP government needs Ansari's custody for 14 criminal cases.
Ansari has been in jail in Punjab since January 2019, where he was named in an extortion case. The UP government has filed a petition in the Supreme Court saying that due to the absence of Ansari, cases of cases are not being heard in UP.
On the plea of the UP government, the Punjab government has filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court, refusing to give Ansari custody of the UP government. The Punjab government has attributed this to Ansari's health. Hulfamme, filed through the jail superintendent, said Ansari is reportedly suffering from high blood pressure, diabetes, depression, back pain, and skin allergies.
Seeking to dismiss the writ petition of the UP government, the Punjab-government has said that it is acting as per the opinion of doctors. There was no pre-conceived conspiracy to keep Ansari away from UP. The affidavit states that the writ petition of UP is not meritable as UP cannot claim a violation of its fundamental right to keep Ansari in custody in Punjab.
The UP government's petition had said that serious cases against Ansari are pending in the state but despite this, Ansari has been in jail in Punjab for two years for a petty crime. The state government says that the court has issued a production warrant to Ansari several times but the jail authority is trying to send Ansari to UP citing health.