Umesh Pal murder: SC to hear Ahmed's plea seeking protection on Mar 17

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday said that it would hear on March 17, Atiq Ahmed's plea seeking protection, and restrain from taking him from central jail Ahmedabad to Prayagraj or any part of the state of Uttar Pradesh apprehending that he may be killed in any fake encounter.

Advocate KS Hanif mentioned Atiq Ahmed's plea before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, who agreed to hear it on March 17.

Atiq Ahmed has moved Supreme Court seeking direction to the Centre to protect his life and restrain from taking him from central jail Ahmedabad to Prayagraj or any part of the state of UP.

The petitioner said that he with his entire family has been roped in as accused persons in Dhoomanganj in Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh in the murder case of one Umesh Pal.

"Further, the Chief Minister of the State, without any investigation merely on the basis of suspicion, has made a statement on the floor of the State Assembly that the Petitioner will be destroyed and eliminated completely," the petitioner said.

Therefore, there is a genuine and perceptible threat to the life of the Petitioner and his family members, the petitioner said.

In such circumstances, petitioner Ahmad said that he is constrained to file the present petition before the Court for the protection of his life as he genuinely apprehends and believes that he may be killed in fake encounters on one pretext or the other by UP police.

The petitioner submitted that it was a deep political conspiracy against the petitioner and his family members petitioner.

The petitioner has prayed to the Court to issue any appropriate direction to the Respondents to protect the life of the Petitioner, who has been made accused in an FIR, against the open, direct and immediate threat to his life from high State functionaries of State of UP.

The petitioner sought to direct the respondent government of India to ensure the safety and security of the Petitioner and that no physical or bodily injury or any other harm is caused to the person of the Petitioner and his family members made accused in the said FIR.

The petitioner sought to issue appropriate direction restraining the authority from taking the Petitioner from Central Jail, Ahmedabad to Prayagraj or any part of the State of UP and carry out an interrogation of the Petitioner, if any, at Central Jail, Ahmedabad, Gujarat or at any other suitable place at Ahmedabad itself where the Petitioner is presently imprisoned under the protection of Gujarat Police as well as Central forces/ paramilitary forces.

The petitioner has sought to direct the transit of the Petitioner from Ahmedabad to UP under the protection of any central police forces paramilitary force if at all the transit of the Petitioner is necessary to UP.

Ahmad said that he has no motive to kill Umesh Pal, who was the complainant in a separate case against him because the trial is going to end in next month and there was nothing left to be done by Umesh Pal in the trial of that matter.

"It was very well known to the rivals of Petitioner that if anything were to happen to Umesh Pal then Petitioner would certainly be the prime suspect in view of the pending case against him by Umesh Pal and he will be made an accused. The same has been done," read the petition.