Property that a criminal obtains under the wife’s name may be taken under the Gangsters Act: Allahabad High Court

Prayagraj: The Gangsters Act permits the attachment of property acquired by a criminal in the name of his wife, according to a ruling by the Allahabad High Court.
The wife of suspected Azamgarh mobster Rajendra Yadav, Meena Devi, sought a criminal appeal, which the court denied. Meena Devi contested a ruling made on May 4, 2023, by a special court in accordance with the Gangsters Act, upholding the district magistrate’s seizure of possessions.

This is what the judge said.
In dismissing Meena Devi’s petition, Judge Nalin Kumar Srivastava said, “This court is of the view that the properties which were attached were acquired by gangster Rajendra Yadav, husband of the appellant, in the name of his wife by way of commission of offense triable under the Gangsters Act.”

“It also appears that relevant materials were supplied to the district magistrate, Azamgarh, to have reason to believe that the properties in question were acquired by gangster Rajendra Yadav, the husband of the present appellant, as a result of the commission of any offense triable under this Act, and the burden upon the claimant to prove that the properties were not acquired… as a result of the commission of any offense under the Act has not been discharged sufficiently,” he stated.

The District Magistrate had enough proof from the police report, the court concluded after examining the material, to sustain the attachment of the assets. It was also noted that the appellant lacked the resources necessary to lawfully purchase the properties in question.

Meena Devi’s attorney contended throughout the hearing that her client was not a gangster and that she did not acquire the aforementioned properties as a result of engaging in any anti-social behavior.

The appellant’s appeal went unconsidered by the Azamgarh DM. The attorney said that he arbitrarily upheld his order of attachment, rejected her argument, declared that her husband had obtained the property via illicit means, and then submitted the matter to the special court.