New Delhi, Jan 31 (IANS): The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to examine a plea filed by Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) MLA Abbas Ansari seeking bail in connection with a criminal case lodged against him by the Uttar Pradesh Police under the stringent Gangsters Act.

Issuing notice, a bench of Justices Surya Kant and N.K. Singh sought response of the Uttar Pradesh government in the matter.

Additional Solicitor General K.M. Natraj, appearing for the UP government, sought two weeks’ time to place the counter affidavit on record.

In an earlier round of litigation, the Justice Surya Kant-led Bench had disposed of Ansari's writ petition against slapping of the case under the UP Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986. It had asked Ansari, son of late gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, to first approach the Allahabad High Court for the grant of bail.

The top court had requested the Allahabad HC to decide the bail application on a priority basis, positively within a period of four weeks, considering the fact that Abbas Ansari has been incarcerated "for a reasonably long period" in other cases.

"Registry of the High Court is directed to place this order before the Hon’ble Chief Justice of the High Court so that the bail application to be moved by the petitioner can be listed before the appropriate Bench to ensure compliance of the timeline mentioned above," the apex court ordered.

With the dismissal of the bail plea by the Allahabad High Court on December 18, 2024, Ansari moved the apex court. In October last year, he had secured bail from the Supreme Court in connection with the unlawful jail visit case as well as the money laundering case lodged by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against him. However, Abbas Ansari remained in jail due to the disposal of the plea against the Gangster Act.