Supreme Court shields Umar Ansari from arrest in 2022 hate speech case

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday granted an interim protection from arrest to Umar Ansari, son of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, who was chargesheeted by Uttar Pradesh Police for allegedly giving hate speech in a rally during the 2022 Assembly polls.

A bench presided over by Justice Hrishikesh Roy took note of the submission made by senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who appeared on behalf of Umar Ansari, that the alleged inflammatory speech was given by the petitioner’s brother -- Abbas Ansari.

Further, the bench, also comprising Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra, noted that Abbas Ansari along with a co-accused have already been granted regular bail by the trial court.

After hearing the submissions, the apex court ordered: “Issue notice returnable within a period of four weeks. In the meantime, the petitioner is protected from arrest.”

In December 2023, the Allahabad High Court rejected the anticipatory bail application filed by Umar Ansari -- who was co-accused for allegedly threatening government officials with payback at a public meeting stage in the Pahadpur area of Mau during the elections.

Mau Police, in March 2022 booked the Ansari brothers under section 171F (offence of undue influence or personation at an election) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of IPC, after a video of the speech went viral on social media.

Earlier in July last year, the Supreme Court had declined to quash criminal proceedings against Umar Ansari and asked him to apply for discharge before the trial court. He had contended that he was charged for merely sharing the stage when his brother allegedly made the controversial speech in violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC).