New Delhi, Apr 7 (UNI) The Supreme Court on Wednesday deferred till April 9, a plea of the wife of jailed gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, seeking protection for her husband in Uttar Pradesh and a fair trial in cases registered against him.
A Bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan and R Subhash Reddy will hear the plea of Afshan Ansari who has expressed apprehension about possible attempts to eliminate her husband.
Afshan, who was a Lok Sabha member from Ghazipur in the state, in the plea contended various attempts to eliminate Ansari over the years and also highlighted various threats meted out to him.
It also sought directions to the authorities to ensure that life of Ansari is protected and his rights under Article 21 of the Constitution are safeguarded.
The petitioner requested that transit of her husband from one jail to another and to the court be video-graphed and be carried out in presence of officers of Central police force such as CRPF.
Yesterday, Uttar Pradesh police got Ansari's custody from its Punjab counterpart.
The FIRs against him are registered under various sections of the Gangster Act and Indian Penal Code.
On March 26, the Apex Court asked the Punjab government to hand over custody of Ansari to the Uttar Pradesh government.
Ansari was initially lodged in a jail in UP as an undertrial when the Punjab Police obtained a production warrant against him on a complaint of extortion and criminal intimidation and brought him to Punjab.
UNI SV JAL 1823