Prayagraj: The Allahabad High Court ruled that properties obtained by a gangster under the guise of his wife's name can be attached under the Gangsters Act.
The court made this ruling while rejecting a criminal appeal filed by Meena Devi, the wife of Rajendra Yadav, an alleged gangster from Azamgarh. Meena Devi challenged a May 4, 2023, order issued by a special judge under the Gangsters Act, which upheld the attachment of properties by the district magistrate.
Here's what court said
Justice Nalin Kumar Srivastava, while rejecting Meena Devi's plea, stated, "This court is of the view that the properties which were attached were acquired by gangster Rajendra Yadav, husband of the appellant, in the name of his wife by way of commission of offence triable under the Gangsters Act."
"It also appears that relevant materials were supplied to the district magistrate, Azamgarh to have reason to believe that the properties in question were acquired by gangster Rajendra Yadav, the husband of the present appellant, as a result of commission of any offence triable under this Act and the burden upon the claimant to prove that the properties were not acquired... as a result of commission of any offence under the Act has not been discharged sufficiently," he said.
After reviewing the evidence, the court noted that the District Magistrate had sufficient evidence from the police report to support the attachment of the properties. Furthermore, it was observed that the appellant lacked the financial means to legitimately acquire the mentioned properties.
During the proceedings, Meena Devi's counsel argued that the appellant is neither a gangster nor has she earned the aforesaid properties on account of her involvement in any anti-social activities.
The Azamgarh DM did not consider the appellant's plea. He arbitrarily confirmed his order of attachment while rejecting her representation and holding that the property was acquired through money earned illegally by her husband and referred the case to the special judge, the counsel said.
(With PTI inputs)
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