Supreme Court granted bail to MLA Abbas Ansari

On Friday, the Supreme Court granted bail to MLA Abbas Ansari in connection with a money laundering case. Abbas Ansari is the son of the gangster-politician and former MLA Mukhtar Ansari, who passed away in custody a few months ago.

The decision was made by a bench comprising Justices M. M. Sundresh and Pankaj Mithal.

On August 14, the apex court had issued a notice to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) seeking its response to Ansari's appeal, which challenged the Allahabad High Court's prior denial of bail. The High Court had rejected Ansari’s bail application on May 9.

In its ruling, the High Court noted that, after reviewing the evidence, including flow charts that delineated the origin of the funds and their transfer into Ansari's accounts, it concluded that he was not entitled to bail at that stage. The High Court also highlighted the connection between Ansari and the financial activities of two firms—M/s Vikas Construction and M/s Aaghaaz—which the ED alleged were utilized for money laundering.

The ED had initiated a case against Ansari, an MLA from the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, based on three earlier cases. Ansari was charged in this matter on November 4, 2022, and is currently incarcerated in Kasganj Jail.