NEW DELHI: The short Supreme Friday ordered the Punjab government to hand over custody of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, who is housed in Rupnagar prison there, for Uttar Pradesh Police.
A bench of judges Ashok Bhushan and RS Reddy said custody would be returned to the state of Uttar Pradesh within two weeks.
The Supreme Court delivered the verdict on the Uttar Pradesh government’s plea requesting an instruction from the Punjab government and the Rupnagar Prison Authority to immediately hand over custody of Ansari to the Banda District Prison.
On March 4, the Punjab government told the highest court that the government led by Yogi Adityanath had no fundamental right to seek Ansari’s transfer from Rupnagar prison to a Banda district prison in the Uttar Pradesh.
Ansari has been held in the Rupnagar District Prison in Punjab in connection with an alleged extortion case since January 2019.
He is also accused in several cases of heinous crimes committed in Uttar Pradesh.
In video: Handing over custody of Mukhtar Ansari to UP police: SC leads Punjab government