Writ of absconding SP MP Atiq Ahmad's advocate dismissed

Allahabad, Sep 1 (UNI) Allahabad High Court has dismissed a writ petition of an advocate representing absconding Samajwadi Party MP Atiq Ahmad in several cases.

A division bench comprising Justices Imtiyaz Murtaza and K N Ojha did not interfere with an FIR lodged against advocate and petitioner Khan Saulat Hanif at police station Bargarh, district Chitrakoot under IPC sections 395, 397, 384 and 506.

The allegations in the FIR were that Aslam and 15-20 persons had engaged in a loot in a planned manner at the instance of the persons, including the petitioner, whose names were mentioned in the FIR.

Dismissing the petition, the bench however said in case the petitioner surrenders within 10 days, his application for bail shall be decided expeditiously in accordance with law.

They remarked that from refusal of the FIR, it cannot be said that no cognizable offence was made out against the advocate.

It is a settled position of law that where the allegations made in the FIR, if taken at their face value and accepted in its entirety, do not make out a cognizable case.

The court said in this case after the registration of FIR, the looted articles had been recovered by the police and the statement of witnesses were also recorded in which the name of the petitioner was mentioned.

Therefore, it cannot be said that there was no allegation against the petitioner to attract the commission of cognizable offence.

''We also did not find any substance in the submission of the counsel for the petitioner that the FIR should be quashed because it was lodged in order to wreak vengeance due to political reasons and the report was mala fide. The FIR cannot be quashed on the ground of mala fide or it had been lodged on the ground of political enmity, maintained the judges.'' The argument of the advocate's counsel were that the petitioner Hanif had been representing in several case of the SP MP, therefore he had falsely been implicated.

UNI