An Express Investigation: The Favoured and the Protected

Minister, Child Development and Nutrition, Primary Education. SP MLA from Mirzapur.

CASE: IPC sections 147 (rioting), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of duty).

REGISTERED: January 6, 2012, Kotwali, Mirzapur. Accused of attacking tax officials at a jewellery shop. Mirzapur District Magistrate (DM) filed withdrawal plea on April 4, 2013. “The court allowed withdrawal in December 2013,” said Ashutosh Agarwal, government counsel.

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Ravidas Mehrotra

Minister, Family Welfare, Women and Child Welfare. SP MLA from Lucknow Central.

CASE: IPC sections 147, 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon) 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from duty), 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others), 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of Rs 50), 379 (punishment for theft), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation).

REGISTERED: January 1987, Qaiserbagh, Lucknow. Accused of attacking employees of municipal corporation during anti-encroachment drive. Lucknow administration filed withdrawal plea on March 4, 2014. “The application has been moved,” said S P Srivastava, government counsel.

Vinod Kumar alias Pandit Singh

Minister, Agriculture, Agriculture Education, Agriculture Research. SP MLA from Gonda.

CASE: IPC sections 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way) and 304 (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder).

REGISTERED: 1988, Tarabganj, Gonda. Booked when vehicle in which he was travelling hit and killed a boy. Gonda DM moved withdrawal plea on March 1, 2014. “Case was withdrawn in August 2014,” said Vinod Kumar.

Ram Murti Verma

Minister, Backward Classes Welfare. SP MLA from Dadraul, Shahjahanpur.

CASE: IPC sections 352 (punishment for assault or criminal force without grave provocation) and 504.

REGISTERED: December 2009, Sadar Bazaar, Shahjahanpur. Accused of assaulting complainant Bhanu Pratap Singh. Shahjahanpur DM filed withdrawal plea on September 6, 2013. “But the court decided the case on merit and acquitted me in September 2015,” said Verma.

Surendra Singh Patel

Minister, PWD and Irrigation. SP MLA from Sevapuri, Varanasi.

CASE: IPC sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504 and 506.

REGISTERED: May 27, 2009, Rohaniya, Varanasi. Accused of attacking a businessman. Varanasi DM moved withdrawal plea on July 1, 2015. “Case was politically motivated and withdrawal plea is pending,” said Patel.

Brahma Shankar Tripathi

Minister, Khadi and Village Industries. SP MLA from Kushinagar.

CASE: IPC sections 147, 148, 332 and 336.

REGISTERED: February 2011, Badhauchghat, Deoria. Booked for blocking road during a protest. Deoria DM moved withdrawal plea on February 7, 2014. “Court allowed withdrawal plea in April 2015,” said Tripathi.

Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya

Minister, Stamp and Court Fees, Registration, Civil Defence. Independent from Kunda, Pratapgarh.

CASE: Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986.

REGISTERED: January, 2011, Kunda, Pratapgarh. Pratapgarh DM moved withdrawal plea in December 2013. “Case was withdrawn in July 2014,” said Ravindra Singh, government counsel.

10 SP MLAs

Rakesh Pratap Singh

Gauriganj, Amethi

CASE: IPC sections 188 (disobedience of order promulgated by a public servant), 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint), 504 and 506.

REGISTERED: October 25, 2008, Gauriganj, Amethi. Accused of blocking traffic, burning effigy of then CM Mayawati. Amethi DM filed withdrawal plea on September 6, 2013. “The application is pending in court,” said Singh.

(Late) Mitrasen Yadav

Bikapur, Faizabad

CASE: IPC sections 147, 323, 336, 504, 341, 283 (danger or obstruction in public way or line of navigation).

REGISTERED: March 9, 2011, Kotwali, Faizabad. Booked for indulging in violence and damaging government vehicles during a protest against the then BSP government. Faizabad district magistrate ordered to file withdrawal plea on March 4, 2014. Yadav died on September 7, 2015, following illness. “The withdrawal application is pending in court,” said Anamika Chowdhary, government counsel.

Irfan Solanki

Sisamau, Kanpur

CASE: IPC sections 147, 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public function), 189 (threat of injury to public servant), 353, 504 and 506.

REGISTERED: June 2011, Gwaltoli, Kanpur. Booked for creating a ruckus at office of electricity supply company KESCO. Kanpur DM ordered to file withdrawal plea on April 24, 2015. “The application is pending in court,” said Solanki.

Satish Nigam

Kalyanpur, Kanpur

CASE: IPC sections 147, 148, 149 (member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object), 307 (attempt to murder), 332, 353, 363 (punishment for kidnapping), 427, 323, 504 and 506.

REGISTERED: April 1, 2007, Amarpur, Kanpur. Booked for triggering ruckus following rumours that two people had been beaten to death at Amarpur police station. Kanpur DM ordered to file a withdrawal plea on January 29, 2013. “Court allowed the plea in December 2014,” said Nigam.

Abhay Singh

Gosaiganj, Faizabad

CASE: Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986.

REGISTERED: 2008, Bazaar Khala, Lucknow. Lucknow DM ordered to file a withdrawal plea on February 10, 2014. “The court allowed the application in February 2014,” said Singh.

Bhagwan Sharma alias Guddu Pandit

Debai, Bulandshahr

CASE: IPC sections 384 (extortion) and 506.

REGISTERED: August, 2011, Shikarpur, Bulandshahr. Accused of trying to extort money and threatening complainant. Bulandshahr DM ordered to file withdrawal plea on November 23, 2012. “The application is pending in court,” said Suman, government counsel.

Vijma Yadav

Pratappur, Allahabad

CASE: IPC sections 419 (punishment for cheating by personation), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc.), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record).

REGISTERED: 2007, Tharwai, Allahabad. Accused of allegedly grabbing land with the help of forged documents. Allahabad DM ordered to move withdrawal application in June 2015. “The application was moved in October 2015,” said Yadav.

Vijay Mishra

Gyanpur, Bhadohi

CASE: IPC sections 420, 467, 468 and 471.

REGISTERED: July 2011, Meerut. Lodged at Meerut jail, case was booked by the then jail superintendent. Meerut DM ordered to file withdrawal plea on September 10, 2014. “The application is pending,” said Chandra Bhushan, government counsel.

Hariom Yadav

Sirsaganj, Firozabad

CASE: IPC sections 420, 467, 468 and 471.

REGISTERED: July 2007, Sirsaganj, Firozabad. Accused of entering into conspiracy and fraudulently changing the ownership of a house. Firozabad DM ordered to file a withdrawal plea on February 25, 2014. “The case was filed during Mayawati’s regime to target political opponents. The application is pending,” said Yadav.

Manbodh Prasad

Salempur, Deoria

CASE: United Provinces Special Power Act, 1932.

REGISTERED: In 2011, Salempur, Deoria. Accused of burning effigy of then CM Mayawati. Deoria DM ordered to move withdrawal plea on April 27, 2015. “The application is pending,” said Prasad.

MP

Ram Shankar

Katheria, BJP, Agra

CASE: IPC sections 147, 504 and 353.

REGISTERED: January 4, 2011, Etmadpur, Agra. Booked for protests at a power sub-station. Agra DM moved withdrawal plea on April 1, 2013. “The government ordered the withdrawal of five cases against Katheria in April 2013. The court allowed withdrawal in four cases. The application for the fifth case (mentioned above) is pending,” said Devendra Singh, the MP’s lawyer.

UNION MINISTER

Kalraj Mishra

BJP, Deoria

Union Minister, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises

CASE: IPC sections 188 and 427.

REGISTERED: 2009, Kotwali Sadar, Pilibhit. Accused of holding public meeting without permission on March 28, 2009. Pilibhit DM ordered to file withdrawal plea on April 24, 2015. “The withdrawal application is pending in court,” said Ram Samuj, government counsel.