The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday (December 3) declined to quash the pending Arms Act case against former Lok Sabha MP Bal Kumar Patel. The bench comprising Justice Sanjay Karol and N. Kotiswar Singh upheld the decision of the Allahabad High Court, noting that the State failed to secure the mandatory High Court sanction required to withdraw a case against a former MP/MLA, as mandated by the precedent set in Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay v. Union of India.
The case traces back to a Government Order dated August 6, 2014, under which the Uttar Pradesh government sought to withdraw three Arms Act cases against Appellant in the “public interest” and “interest of justice.” While the Governor approved the filing of the withdrawal application. The trial court on October 8, 2021 pointed out that the crucial High Court sanction under the law was missing, and returned the application. The State was directed to obtain the required permission within 30 days, a step that was never taken.
The Appellant’s subsequent attempt to quash the proceedings under Section 482 CrPC was rejected by the High Court. Upholding that decision, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, but granted the prosecution leave to file an application seeking High Court permission for withdrawal. The Court stressed that any such application must fully disclose all reasons, along with case records, for the High Court to conduct a considered judicial review before granting or denying sanction.
The Appeal was dismissed. Granting prosecutions leave to make an application seeking a withdrawal of the case before the high court.
