The Allahabad High Court has intervened in the Banda jail controversy, staying the arrest of a jail superintendent accused of illegally releasing a notorious gangster, pending further investigation.
The Allahabad High Court has stayed the arrest of suspended Banda Jail Superintendent Anil Kumar Gautam in connection with the alleged illegal release of a Noida-based gangster from jail without a court order.
A bench of Justices Rajeev Mishra and Satya Veer Singh passed the order while hearing Gautam's plea seeking the quashing of the FIR and protection from arrest.
Granting interim relief, the court directed that Gautam shall not be arrested in Case Crime No. 64 of 2026, registered under section 260(C) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at the Kotwali Nagar police station in Uttar Pradesh's Banda district.
"Considering the facts and circumstances of the case, it is hereby provided that until further orders of this court, petitioner shall not be arrested," the bench said in its order dated April 1.
The court, however, allowed police to continue with the probe but restrained the investigating officer from filing a report before the magistrate concerned under section 193(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita during the pendency of the petition.
The bench issued notices to all respondents, including the state government, and granted six weeks to file counter-affidavits. The next hearing has been fixed for May 27.
The FIR was lodged on February 2 by Jail Chowki in-charge Anurag Pandey. The case pertains to the alleged release of Ravindra Singh alias Ravi Kana, who was lodged in the Banda jail since August 2024 in another case.
According to the complaint, Singh was produced via video-conferencing on a B-warrant on January 29, 2026, but was allegedly released before a custody warrant was received, triggering the controversy.