STATE OF U P Vs. AJAY KUMAR MISHRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal under Section 18 of the U.P. Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986, hereinafter referred to as the Act. filed against the judgment and order dated 15.10.2008 of Additional Sessions Judge/Special Judge (Gangster Act), Court No. 5, Allahabad, passed in Criminal Miscellaneous Application No. 9 of 2008, whereby the application of the Respondents has been allowed and order dated 21.8.2008 of the District Magistrate, Allahabad passed in Case No. 15 of 2008, so far as it relates to plot No. 114/10 of village Naini Dadri and the house built thereon, has been set aside and the said properties have been released from attachment.

(2.) A resume of the factual matrix of the case is that the District Magistrate, Allahabad, by order dated 24.7.2008, passed under Section 14(1) of the Act, attached certain movable and immovable properties of one Dilip Kumar Misra of village Lawayan Kalan, Police Station Audyogik Kshetra, district Allahabad, who was an accused of Case No. 219 of 2007 under Section 2/3(1) of the Act. Against that order, said Dilip Kumar Misra made a representation under Section 15(1) of the Act (Case No. 15 of 2008) to the District Magistrate (D.M.) who by a detailed order dated 21.8.2008, after refusing to release the said properties from attachment and dismissing the representation, referred the matter with his report to the Special Judge (Gangster) Allahabad under Section 16(1) of the Act. The Respondents, namely, Ajay Kumar Misra and his wife Smt. Pushpa Misra, who are the elder brother and sister-in-law (bhabhi) of Dilip Kumar Misra, made an application on 2.9.2008 to the Special Judge for the release of plot No. 114/10 of village Naini Dadri and the house built thereon from attachment on the ground that they are its actual owners and the said plot measuring 0.410 hectare was purchased by them through a registered sale deed from Smt. Shobha Gupta in Rs. 3,20,000 on 19.8.1998 and thereafter they gradually got a house built thereon with their own funds and Dilip Kumar Misra has no concern with it. The Special Judge made an inquiry under Section 16 of the Act and after examining the area Lekhpal Mohd. Nasim, Pradhan Bachcha Lal Yadav and Gram Panchayat Adhikari Alok Kumar Singh of the concerned village and Station Officer of the concerned police station R. K. Sharma as Court Witness Nos. 1 to 4 respectively and taking the affidavit of Dilip Kumar Misra held that the Respondents are the actual owners of the said plot and house which they had purchased/ constructed from their own sources of income and it were not acquired by Dilip Kumar Misra. The application of the Respondents was accordingly allowed and the properties in question were ordered to be released in their favour by the impugned judgment and order, which have been challenged by the State Government in this appeal.

(3.) I have heard Shri D.R. Chaudhari, learned Government advocate for the Appellant, Shri Gopal Chaturvedi, learned senior advocate, assisted by Shri L.K. Dwivedi, for the Respondents and perused the impugned judgment and gone through the record of the lower court.