Allahabad High Court stays arrest of Banda Jail Superintendent Anil Kumar Gautam in jail release case

The Allahabad High Court has granted interim protection to suspended Banda Jail Superintendent Anil Kumar Gautam, staying his arrest in a case alleging the illegal release of a Noida-based gangster without a court order. Police may continue the investigation, but the court has restricted filing a report before the magistrate while the petition is pending.

The Allahabad High Court has put on hold the arrest of suspended Banda Jail Superintendent Anil Kumar Gautam. The case concerns an alleged illegal release from Banda jail of a Noida-based gangster. The court gave Gautam interim protection while hearing a plea to cancel the FIR and stop any arrest.

A bench of Justices Rajeev Mishra and Satya Veer Singh passed the order on April 1. The bench said, "Considering the facts and circumstances of the case, it is hereby provided that until further orders of this court, petitioner shall not be arrested\". The protection applies to Case Crime No. 64 of 2026.

Allahabad High Court stay on arrest in Banda jail case

The case is registered at Kotwali Nagar police station in Banda district of Uttar Pradesh. It is booked under section 260C of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The court ordered that Gautam shall not be arrested in this case while the petition remains pending.

Police were allowed to continue the investigation during this period. However, the bench stopped the investigating officer from filing a report. This bar applies to any report before the concerned magistrate under section 1933. The restriction is linked to the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita.

Allahabad High Court order on FIR and probe timeline

The bench also issued notices to all respondents, including the state government. It granted six weeks for filing counter-affidavits in response to Gautam’s petition. The next hearing in the matter has been scheduled for May 27.

The FIR was filed on February 2 by Jail Chowki in-charge Anurag Pandey. The complaint relates to Ravindra Singh alias Ravi Kana. Singh was lodged in Banda jail since August 2024 in a separate case.

As per the complaint, Singh was produced through video-conferencing on a B-warrant on January 29, 2026. The allegation says Singh was released before a custody warrant arrived. This sequence led to the dispute that triggered the case against Gautam.

With inputs from PTI