A division bench of the Supreme Court granted interim bail on Tuesday for MLA Abbas Ansari, currently detained in Kasganj jail, to attend his deceased father Mukhtar Ansari's Fatiha ritual .
Under the direction of Justices Surya Kant and KV Vishwanathan, Abbas will be escorted from Kasganj jail to his hometown under police custody with adequate security, arranged by the Director General of Police.
The bench also allowed Abbas to be with his family members on April 11th and 12th following the completion of the Fatiha rituals.
According to the court order, authorities must ensure Abbas begins his journey before 5 PM today. Once the rituals conclude tomorrow, he will be temporarily relocated to Ghazipur jail.
While on interim bail, Abbas Ansari will not interact with the Press or the electronic media.
Mukhtar Ansari, a former gangster-turned-politician, passed away due to cardiac arrest at a Banda hospital in Uttar Pradesh on March 28.
Originally, Abbas sought Supreme Court permission to attend his father's funeral. However, as the matter couldn't be listed promptly, Abbas's counsel, Advocate Nizam Pasha, informed the court of his intention to file an amendment plea to attend the Fatiha scheduled for April 10th.
The State of UP opposed Abbas's plea, citing his involvement in multiple criminal cases and potential witness tampering if granted bail.
However, the court found no reason to deny Abbas permission to attend the ritual tomorrow.
In response to Mukhtar Ansari's death, a three-member team has been tasked with conducting a thorough magisterial investigation, including a post-mortem examination conducted by a panel of two doctors, to be recorded on video, as ordered by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Banda.
Sibgatullah Ansari, Mukhtar Ansari's elder brother, expressed concerns regarding his medical treatment prior to his demise.
