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- Politics
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Sambhal violence case: Chargesheet filed against SP MP Zia Ur Rehman Barq, 22 others
The Uttar Pradesh Police have filed a chargesheet against Samajwadi Party MP Zia Ur Rehman Barq and 22 others in a case relating to the violence that erupted in Sambhal district in November, The Indian Express reported on Friday. Barq has been accused of inciting the crowd by giving allegedly provocative speeches, said a statement issued by the police in Sambhal on Wednesday. The statement said that 'some anti-social elements, criminals and certain political people to claim political relevance incited violence at the Shahi Jama Masjid' on November 24. The police claimed that they had found that allegedly inflammatory speeches and incitement to violence led to the clashes, which resulted in arson, the throwing of stones and damage to public and private property, The Indian Express reported. 'We have sent 92 people into judicial custody and are collecting evidence,' the newspaper quoted the statement as having said. 'The investigation is still ongoing, and soon, others involved will be arrested.' On November 24, violence broke out in Sambhal after a group of Muslims objected to a court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid in Chandausi town. A trial court had ordered the survey in a suit claiming that the mosque had been built in 1526 by Mughal ruler Babar on the site of the 'centuries-old Shri Hari Har Temple dedicated to Lord Kalki'. Five persons were killed in the violence during the survey. The police said that the chargesheet was submitted in the special MP/MLA court of the civil judge (senior division) at the Sambhal district and sessions court in Chandausi in connection with a first information report filed at the Kotwali Sambhal police station, the newspaper reported. The Uttar Pradesh Police had accused Barq of inciting a mob for political gain which led to violent clashes. They alleged in an FIR that Barq visited the Shahi Jama Masjid days before the incident without permission, offered prayers and delivered provocative speeches. Twelve FIRs were filed after the violence and a Special Investigation Team was formed to look into the matter. Barq has denied the allegations, stating he was in Bengaluru at the time of the clashes. 'I was not even in the state, let alone Sambhal,' he had said after the violence. 'This is a conspiracy by the police and administration.' He had earlier criticised the court-ordered survey, stating that the mosque is a historic site. 'The Supreme Court had ruled that religious places as they existed in 1947 must remain unchanged as per the Places of Worship Act, 1991,' he said. On March 25, the Sambhal Police had served a notice to Barq over his alleged involvement in the matter. In April, the Samajwadi Party MP was questioned for about four hours by the SIT. On Thursday, Superintendent of Police Krishan Kumar Vishnoi confirmed that Barq had been charged in the case, The Hindu reported. 'The charge sheet details that late-night conversations took place between Barq and Zafar Ali, the president of Shahi Jama Masjid,' the newspaper quoted him as having said. 'They were responsible for gathering the crowd on November 22, two days prior to the widespread violence.' The chargesheet was based on 'extensive evidence' gathered during the investigation, he added. On January 3, the Allahabad High Court had stayed Barq's arrest but declined to quash the FIR filed against him and others at Kotwali police station. The court ruled that the investigation would proceed and ordered Barq to cooperate with authorities.
Indian Express
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Power bill demand of Rs 1.91 crore ‘wholly unnatural and arbitrary', Allahabad High Court gives relief to Sambhal MP, directs that electricity supply be restored
The Allahabad High Court has directed the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd (UPPCL) to restore power supply at the house of Sambhal Member of Parliament, Zia Ur Rehman Barq. In a significant relief to the Samajwadi Party MP, the Allahabad High Court also stayed the operation of an electricity bill demand of Rs 1.91 crore raised by the UPPCL, terming it 'wholly unnatural and arbitrary', in its June 4 order. The matter was heard by a division bench comprising Justices Saumitra Dayal Singh and Sandeep Jain. The court was hearing a writ petition filed by the Sambhal MP challenging the assessment order dated May 15, 2025. The court also directed the restoration of the electricity connection, subject to a deposit of Rs 6 lakh and timely payment of future bills. 'Subject to the petitioner depositing Rs.6 lakhs within a period of two weeks from Wednesday, the effect and operation of order dated 15.05.2025, shall remain stayed and the electricity connection of the petitioner, that may have been temporarily disconnected, may be restored forthwith and be maintained subject to timely payment of future bills,' read the court order. Barq was represented by advocates Bidhan Chandra Rai and Stuti Rai, who argued that the UPPCL lacked jurisdiction to assess electricity usage for 'a period of 12 years', asserting that the maximum permissible assessment period under the law is one year. 'Submission is that even if the inspection report and adverse facts allegedly found therein are accepted, no jurisdiction arose with the respondent authorities to make assessment for a period of 12 years,' the court order read. The order further said that the maximum period for which assessment may have been made could not exceed one year. 'By breaching the statutory period of assessment, wholly unnatural and arbitrary demand of Rs.1 crore 91 lacs has been raised. The petitioner cannot be made to deposit 50% of such illegal demand to maintain an appeal,' said the order passed on June 4. The court granted three weeks to the UPPCL to respond and fixed the date of next hearing as July 2, 2025. The fine was imposed on the MP after allegations of power theft at his residence, on December 19. On the same day, he was charged with large scale electricity theft and the power supply to his residence was disconnected.
India Gazette
08-06-2025
- Politics
- India Gazette
"Absolutely baseless," says Sambhal MP Zia Ur Rehman Barq on electricity theft filed against him
Sambhal (Uttar Pradesh) [India], June 8 (ANI): Samajwadi Party MP from Sambhal, Zia Ur Rehman Barq, on Sunday refuted allegations of electricity theft filed against him, calling the case 'absolutely baseless' and politically motivated. Speaking to ANI, Rehman Barq questioned the integrity of Uttar Pradesh electricity officials, claiming that his house has been without power for the past six months. 'I got some relief from the High Court. The Court said that the case was filed in the wrong manner... The electricity supply in my house has been cut off for the last 6 months. The electricity officers who have accused me of electricity theft, I want to ask them how honestly they are working? The case of electricity theft filed against me is absolutely baseless. The case has been filed under pressure, but we were hopeful that we would get justice in the courts,' Rehman Barq said. The Allahabad High Court stayed an order dated 15 May 2025, demanding payment of around Rs 2 crore of the electricity bill from SP MP Zia Ur Rehman Barq for his residence in Sambhal. The Court directed Paschimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (PVVNL) to restore electricity to Barq's residence, which was disconnected in December 2024. A bench of Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh and Justice Sandeep Jain also stayed the final assessment order imposing on him electricity charges of Rs. 1.91 crores for a period of 4138 days upon the allegation of unauthorised use of electricity. Meanwhile, in a separate legal development, the Allahabad High Court upheld a trial court's order to conduct a survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal district. The petition filed by the Muslim side, seeking to halt the trial court proceedings, was rejected after the court found 'no issues with the trial court order' in the ongoing dispute between the Jama Masjid and the Harihar Mandir in the district. Reacting to the judgment, advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain said that the High Court has rejected all objections raised regarding the appointment of the Survey Commissioner by the Civil Judge (Senior Division), Chandausi. 'This is a very important decision of the Allahabad High Court and all those who had spread the misconception in the country that the Survey Commissioner appointed by Civil Judge Senior Division Chandausi on 19th November was a wrong appointment and he should have heard the Masjid Committee before making the appointment, today that the court has completely rejected proposition of law,' Jain told ANI. Explaining the court's authority to appoint a Survey Commissioner, Jain said, 'The simple proposition of law is that the court can appoint a Survey Commissioner in the exercise of the power of Order 26, Rule 9 and 10. There is no need to hear anyone at that time. The mandate of law is only that when the Survey Commissioner goes to the spot for a survey, he will conduct the survey in the presence of both parties. Which was followed here on both the days, i.e. 19th and 24th November.' Criticising certain parliamentarians and senior advocates who had raised questions on the survey, he added: 'So the big barristers and parliamentarians who had made comments on the dignity of the court and the dignity of the parties on the dignity of this entire process, today a well-reasoned judgment has put a full stop to it.' Jain further said that the High Court's decision to vacate the stay on the trial means the legal proceedings will now continue. (ANI)
Time of India
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
'Electricity theft' case: Allahabad HC orders restoration of power supply at Sambhal MP Barq's home; calls Rs 1.91 crore fine 'arbitrary'
Zia Ur Rehman Barq (File photo) NEW DELHI: The Allahabad high court has directed the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd (UPPCL) to restore power supply at the house of Samajwadi Party 's (SP) Lok Sabha member from Sambhal, Zia Ur Rehman Barq. A division bench of justices Saumitra Dayal Singh and Sandeep Jain, passed the order on a writ petition by Barq in the electricity theft case . It also described as "arbitrary," UPPCL's Rs 1.91 crore fine on the SP leader over allegations of electricity theft. "Submission is that even if the inspection report and adverse facts allegedly found therein are accepted, no jurisdiction arose with the respondent authorities to make assessment for a period of 12 years," the court observed in its June 4 order, according to news agency PTI. "The maximum period for which assessment may have been made could not exceed one year. By breaching the statutory period of assessment, wholly unnatural and arbitrary demand of Rs 1 crore and 91 lakhs has been raised. The petitioner cannot be made to deposit 50% of such illegal demand to maintain an appeal," it added. However, the bench asked Barq to deposit a permissible amount of Rs. 6 lakhs to maintain his appeal, giving him two weeks to do so. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Trading CFD dengan Teknologi dan Kecepatan Lebih Baik IC Markets Mendaftar Undo Through his lawyer, he submitted he is willing to deposit the money. The court then granted UPPCL three weeks to file its reply in the matter and fixed the next hearing for July 2. In December 2024, the electricity department imposed the penalty on Barq following an inspection at his residence in Sambhal's Deepa Sarai area, where officials allegedly discovered the power theft. Separately, the politician faces charges of inciting violence in Sambhal during protests related to a court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid in November last year.
