24 days in jail: Allahabad HC denies bail to UP Congress chief Ajay Kumar Lallu

The Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court on Friday denied bail to UP Congress chief Ajay Kumar Lallu arrested on charges of alleged forgery of documents of buses arranged for ferrying stranded migrant labourers during the coronavirus lockdown.

The next hearing in the case is on June 16. The bench has asked UP police to submit a case diary before the court on the same day.

Senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi stood as counsel for Lallu through video conferencing.

It was the second time when Lallu was denied bail, despite being jailed for more than 23 days. Before Allahabad HC, the session court had also denied bail to the Congress leader.

Lallu was arrested twice on May 20 – first by Agra police for protest against the UP government for not granting permission to allow buses for migrants; then by the Lucknow police.

Though he was later granted bail by an Agra court and released, he was arrested again by Lucknow police in a second case filed in connection with forgery.

The UP police blamed Lallu for cheating and forging documents after the UP government blamed that about 100 vehicles on the Congress list were not buses and 297 lacked either a fitness certificate or valid insurance papers.

Meanwhile, Congress has launched Seva-satyagraha for the release of Lallu.

In an article in NH sister publication Navjian, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi wrote,

“This is 20th time that a scared government has taken him in custody and despite injustice and witch-hunt, he remains fearless and undefeated”.

“He has faith on democracy and judiciary of India. His sacrifice and dedication are undefeatable.  Lallu is a true citizen of the country for which Mahatma Gandhi fought for. He deserves justice. Justice must be delivered,” said Priyanka Gandhi.