Lucknow: The Allahabad High Court on April 17 stayed till May 16 the arrest of Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Amar Singh in connection with the cases of alleged misuse of discretionary funds filed against him and others by the Mayawati government.

The Court gave the order on a petition filed for quashing the First Information Reports (FIRs) registered against him, SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and other party leaders.

A division bench comprising Justice Vishnu Sahai and Justice Abdul Mateen, while staying the arrest of Singh, directed UP Chief Minister Mayawati, Principal Secretary (Home) Pradeep Kumar, state government and the state Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president K K Sachan to file their replies within four weeks and posted the matter for further hearing on May 16.

State's Principal Secretary (Home) Pradeep Kumar, SHO (Station House Officer) Hazratganj and BSP state president K K Sachan have been made respondents in the petition, which pleaded that the FIRs were "politically motivated and were the result of rivalry."

As many as 136 FIRs were registered against SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav and others pertaining to the misuse of discretionary funds during Yadav's stint as UP Chief Minister.

Besides, one FIR was registered at the Hazratganj police station in Lucknow by BSP state president K K Sachan in which Yadav, Amar Singh and Leader of Opposition in the Vidhan Sabha Azam Khan and five others were charged with forcibly entering the BSP office and preparing forged electronic documents (CDs) and doctoring them.

PTI