FIR over remarks against UP govt: SC refuses interim protection to AAP’s Sanjay Singh

The Supreme Court Tuesday declined interim protection to AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, who is facing a non-bailable warrant (NBW) for allegedly claiming the Uttar Pradesh government favoured only a certain class in the society.

The FIR against Singh was lodged in Lucknow, following the comments he made at a press conference last year.

Singh’s petition challenging an Allahabad High Court order denying him any relief came up for hearing before a bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan and R S Reddy, which said it will not pass any order without first seeing the HC order.

Appearing for the MP, Senior Advocate Vikvek Tankha prayed that Singh be granted interim protection as an NBW has been issued against him in the Lucknow matter, but the bench said he can request the trial court for exemption from appearance.

Fixing the matter for hearing next week, the bench asked Tankha and Advocate Sumeer Sodhi, who also appeared for Singh, to place on record the January 21 HC order refusing to quash the Lucknow FIR.

Singh’s plea also sought quashing of multiple FIRs lodged against him in different UP districts, saying these were “manifestly attended with mala fides and have been maliciously instituted to unleash political vendetta against” him.

The petition submitted that Singh had “merely raised certain social issues, namely neglect and apathy of the government towards a certain class of society” at the press conference, and alleged that the multiple FIRs were lodged on the behest of BJP members.