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HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD LUCKNOW Bhimsen Singh Alias Raju .....Applicant(s)

Versus State Of U.P. Thru. Prin. Secy. Home Deptt. Lko.

And Another .....Opposite Party(s)

Counsel for Applicant(s) : Ishan Baghel Counsel for Opposite Party(s) : G.A.

Alongwith

1. APPLICATION U/S 528 BNSS No. - 6043 of 2026 2. APPLICATION U/S 528 BNSS No. - 6782 of 2026 3. APPLICATION U/S 528 BNSS No. - 5329 of 2026 4. APPLICATION U/S 528 BNSS No. - 5457 of 2026 5. APPLICATION U/S 528 BNSS No. - 5872 of 2026 Court No. - 12 HON'BLE RAJEEV SINGH, J.

1. Heard Sri Ishan Baghel, Sri Paarth Singh, Sri Satya Prakash Mishra, Sri Amit Chaudhary, Sri Anil Kumar Pandey, Sri Shailesh Kumar Srivastava, Sri Divya Singh, holding brief of Sri Brijesh Kumar Singh, learned counsels for the applicants and learned A.G.A. for the State.

2. Learned counsel for the applicants submit that proceeding was initiated under the provisions of U.P. Gangsters and Anti Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986 by filing charge sheet and thereafter, cognizance taken by the trial court, which are under challenged on the strength of the issue decided by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Criminal Appeal No.3979 of 2026 (arising out of SLP (Crl.) No.16398 of 2025) 'Shiv Pratap Singh @ Chinu Vs. State of U.P. and Ors.' reported in 2026 SCC Online SC 1677. He further submits that aforesaid judgment was passed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court referring the principle of nulla poena sine lege and that Section 2 of the Act speaks the definition of the Gang and Gangster and Section 3 prescribes the penalty. He further submits that, under the provisions of the Gangsters Act, a person is being prosecuted for involvement in criminal activities in respect of which separate proceedings have already been initiated by filing charge sheets. He contends that such prosecution amounts to a violation of Article 20 of the Constitution of India.

The contents of the para 18 to 58 of the aforesaid judgment is as under :-

18. The U.P. Act as the preamble suggests, intends prevention of and proliferation of gangsters and anti-social activities, as also matters connected therewith and incidental thereto, a laudable object indeed. Section 2 is the definition clause which, in addition to the other definitions, defines ‘Gang’ & ‘Gangsters’. Sub-sections (b) & (c) of Section 2 are extracted hereinbelow: -

“2. In this Act, —

(a) “Code” means the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973;

(b) “Gang” means a group of persons, who acting either singly or collectively, by violence, or threat or show of violence, or intimidation, or coercion or otherwise with the object of disturbing public order or of gaining any undue temporal, pecuniary, material or other advantage for himself or any other person, indulge in anti-social activities, namely —…

(i) offences punishable under Chapter XVI, or Chapter XVII, or Chapter XXII of the Penal Code, 1860, or (ii) distilling or manufacturing or storing or transporting or importing or exporting or selling or distributing any liquor, or intoxicating or dangerous drugs, or other intoxicants or narcotics or cultivating any plant, in contravention of any of the provisions of the U.P. Excise Act, 1910 or the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 or any other law for the time being in force, or (iii) occupying or taking possession of immovable property otherwise than in accordance with law, or setting-up false claims, for title or possession of immoveable property whether in himself or any other person, or (iv) preventing or attempting to prevent any public servant or any witness from discharging his lawful duties, or (v) offences punishable under the Suppression of Immoral Traffic in Women and Girls Act, 1956, or (vi) offences punishable under section 3 of the Public Gambling Act, 1867, or (vii) preventing any person from offering bids in auction lawfully conducted, or tender, lawfully invited, by or on behalf of any Government department, local body or public or private undert