UP Gangsters Act Gang Chart Quashed for Non-Application of Mind — Allahabad HC (Babboo Shah v. State of U.P.)

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Overview

The Allahabad High Court (Lucknow Bench) has quashed a gang chart prepared under the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986, along with the resulting charge sheet, cognizance order and the entire criminal proceedings, after finding that neither the Superintendent of Police (SP) nor the District Magistrate (DM) had indicated any independent application of mind while approving it. The Court described the case as a “sad state of affairs” and directed the officials concerned to adhere to constitutional-court precedent and display fairness in State action.

Case: Babboo Shah v. State of U.P. through Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Home, Lucknow and 2 Others
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (AB) 718 — Neutral Citation 2026:AHC-LKO:64965
Bench: Justice Manish Mathur
Date: 15 September 2026

Facts

The petitioner approached the High Court under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, seeking to quash proceedings arising from a case registered in Uttar Pradesh under Section 3(1) of the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986. A gang chart had been prepared against him listing him as a member of a gang, based on three earlier criminal cases pending against him.

According to the record, the gang chart was forwarded on 10 November 2021, approved by the Additional Superintendent of Police and the Superintendent of Police on 11 November 2021, and approved by the District Magistrate four days later, on 15 November 2021. It was the petitioner’s case that the authorities had merely signed a pre-prepared gang chart in a “cyclostyled manner” without independently examining his criminal history, in violation of a Circular dated 24 October 2003 and a Government Order dated 2 January 2004 — both of which require the Superintendent of Police to examine the criminal history of the person concerned and finalise the gang chart only after consultation with the District Magistrate. Cognizance was taken and summons issued on 7 December 2022, and the matter was pending before the Additional Sessions Judge (Gangsters Act).

The petitioner also relied on the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Rules, 2021. The State opposed this, pointing out that the 2021 Rules came into force only on 27 December 2021 — after the gang chart had already been prepared on 15 November 2021 — and could not apply retrospectively. The Court accepted this and held that the case had to be examined under the 2003 Circular and 2004 Government Order, which were in force at the relevant time.

What the Court Held

1. The approving authority’s satisfaction is a “sine qua non” and cannot be a rubber stamp. Relying on the Supreme Court’s decision in Vinod Bihari Lal v. State of U.P. and another, 2025 SCC OnLine SC 1216, the Court reiterated that “the satisfaction of the approving authority is sine qua non for taking action under the Act of 1986,” and that it is “indispensable for the approving authority to record his satisfaction in his own words, to indicate application of mind before approving the gang-chart.” Crucially, that satisfaction “must not be a cyclostyle reproduction of the application of mind communicated by the recommending authority” — mere reiteration of the FIR or chargesheet does not amount to application of mind, and “a mechanical or routine exercise of power” by the recommending, forwarding and approving authorities is impermissible because it “directly impinges upon the liberty of citizens.”

2. A gang chart cannot be prepared in a “cursory manner.” The Court held that the 2003 Circular and 2004 Government Order “clearly indicate the importance attached by the police authorities and the State Government to proper deliberation and subsequent preparation of gang chart,” precisely because of the criminal consequences that follow for the person named in it. That the SP and DM — rather than subordinate officials — must approve the gang chart was itself, the Court said, evidence of how seriously the exercise is meant to be treated.

3. Neither the SP nor the DM showed any application of mind in this case. The Court found that neither authority had indicated “any reason, deliberation or application of mind to the criminal history of the petitioner” while approving the gang chart. It further noted “a glaring display of non-deliberation” in the fact that the Superintendent of Police approved the chart on 11 November 2021 while the District Magistrate approved it only four days later, on 15 November 2021, without any indication of consultation between them.

4. The trial court’s cognizance order independently failed the same test. The Court also found that the Magistrate’s cognizance and summoning order dated 7 December 2022 “also displays an abject non-application of mind,” having “merely been passed… in a routine manner” without regard to the defects in the gang chart’s approval.

5. Gang chart, chargesheet, cognizance order and entire proceedings quashed. Holding that the gang chart had been prepared in violation of the 2003 Circular, the 2004 Government Order, and binding Supreme Court precedent, the Court quashed the gang chart, the chargesheet, the cognizance and summoning order, and the entire proceedings arising from them. In doing so, it observed: “It is a sad state of affairs where higher governmental officials of the rank of Superintendent of Police and District Magistrate concerned are unmindful of recurring judgments of Constitutional Courts with regard to application of mind and display of fairness.” The Court directed “the officials concerned… to adhere to judgments of constitutional authorities and to display fairness in state action.”

Precedents Relied On

Vinod Bihari Lal v. State of U.P. and another, 2025 SCC OnLine SC 1216 — the Supreme Court’s holding that an approving authority’s satisfaction under the Gangsters Act is a sine qua non, must be recorded independently in its own words, and cannot be a “cyclostyle reproduction” of the recommending authority’s view. This was the anchor precedent for the Court’s reasoning.
Kranti Associates Private Limited v. Masood Ahmed Khan, (2010) 9 SCC 496; Assistant Commissioner, Commercial Tax Department v. Shukla and Brothers, (2010) 4 SCC 785; and State of Punjab v. Bhag Singh, (2004) 1 SCC 547 — cited together for the general administrative-law principle that reasons in an order “are its soul,” expressing the mind of the authority so that the order can be understood if challenged.

Takeaway

This decision was governed by the older 2003 Circular and 2004 Government Order framework, because the gang chart here predated the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Rules, 2021 (in force from 27 December 2021) and the Rules could not apply retrospectively. But the underlying principle — that the SP’s and DM’s approval of a gang chart must reflect genuine, independently recorded satisfaction, and not a mechanical signature on a document prepared by a subordinate officer — is drawn from Supreme Court precedent and is not tied to any particular procedural regime. Two approving signatures four days apart, with nothing on record to show what each authority actually considered, was enough for the Court to treat the entire chain of proceedings as vitiated from the start.

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