The Gwalior Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on Friday issued notice on a writ petition filed by senior advocate Anil Kumar Mishra seeking quashing of his arrest in connection with a case registered following recent unrest in Gwalior. The State government accepted notice and was granted one day’s time to file its reply. The matter is listed for further hearing on January 4.
The Court also granted the petitioner time to file an application seeking amendment of the writ petition to challenge an order passed by the Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC), Gwalior, and to implead the complainant as a party. The State was further directed to keep the case diary available on the next date of hearing.
The petition has been filed against the backdrop of heightened tensions in Gwalior after allegations surfaced that Anil Mishra and others burnt a photograph of Dr B.R. Ambedkar and raised objectionable slogans during an unauthorised procession. The incident triggered protests by several Dalit organisations, including the Bhim Army and the Azad Samaj Party, which staged demonstrations at the Collectorate and demanded stringent action, including invocation of the National Security Act.
In connection with the incident, police detained four accused persons, including Advocate Anil Mishra. After medical examination, they were produced before a court, which remanded them to police custody. The High Court is now seized of the matter and is expected to consider the legality of the arrest on the next date of hearing.
Appearances:
For the Petitioner: Shri J.P. Mishra, Shri Pawan Pathak, Shri Rajiv Sharma, Shri Rishi Kumar Katare, Shri Deshraj Bhargav, Shri Neeraj Bhargav, Shri Pawan Sharma, Shri Ravi Tripathi, Shri Akram Khan, Shri Prabhat Hinnariya, Shri Jaishankar, Shri Mayank Chaturvedi, Shri Anil Rajput, Shri Manish Chandra, Shri Hariom Tiwari, Shri Akhalesh Dubey, Shri Narendra Yogi, Shri Nihal Rai, and Shri Mayank Mohan Chaturvedi, Advocates.
For the State: Shri Prashant Singh, Advocate General, along with Shri Bramha Datt Singh, Additional Advocate General (through video conferencing), Shri Vivek Khedkar, Additional Advocate General, Shri Deependra Singh Kushwaha, Additional Advocate General, Shri Sanjay Singh Kushwaha, Government Advocate, and Shri Dharmendra Nayak, Government Advocate.
