Former Uttar Pradesh minister for food and civil supplies Raghuraj Pratap Singh, alias Raja Bhaiyya, surrendered along with his father Udai Pratap Singh before a designated Prevention of Terrorism Act court in Kanpur on Monday in pursuance with the November 10 Supreme Court order.
The father-son duo surrendered before the designated POTA court, where special judge S C Chaurasia, who is also the district judge, sent them to judicial custody in the Kanpur district jail.
The counsel for the high-profile duo D D Mehta said the judge rejected the interim bail application of the duo and adjourned the hearing on their bail till November 22. Mr Mehta said an application seeking the duo's transfer to Pratapgarh district jail was withdrawn.
The former minister and his father reached the court along with his supporters and later surrendered before the judge of the designated POTA court.
A two-judge apex court bench had, on November 10, quashed the UP government decision to revoke POTA charges against Raja Bhaiyya, his father and cousin and ruling Samajwadi Party member Akshay Pratap Singh, alias Gopalji.
The bench had directed the father and son duo to appear before the designated POTA court in Kanpur within a week and apply for fresh bail in the trial case under Section 4 (B) of POTA for possessing arms within the specified area, the Arms Act and the Explosives Substances Act.
Transferring the trial to neighbouring Madhya Pradesh, the court had asked the MP High Court Chief Justice to assign the case to a competent court.
Shortly after the apex court set aside the State POTA Review Committee order holding that no case was made out for invoking POTA against Raja Bhaiyya and two of his relatives, the controversial scion of erstwhile Pratapgarh princedom submitted his resignation from the state cabinet to ''spare the state government and Mr Yadav any embarrassment on this count''.
Raja Bhiayya's resignation from the ministerial job was accepted by UP Governor T V Rajeswar on Sunday.
The Supreme Court order was given on petitions filed by S K Shukla and two other residents of Pratapgarh challenging the state government's decision to withdraw the POTA charges against Raja Bhaiyya and others.
The Mayawati government had slapped POTA against the trio in April 2003, after they were arrested along with arms and ammunition, including AK 47 and 56 rifles. Immediately after Mulayam Singh Yadav was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh on 29 August, 2003, the state government had initiated steps to revoke POTA charges against Raja Bhaiya.
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