Centre, UP asked to take final decision on Babloo Srivastava's

The Allahabad High Court has asked the Centre and Uttar Pradesh government to take a "final decision" on the application of underworld don Babloo Srivastava, seeking release from prison on bail till his plea for remission of sentence is considered by government, in the light of having spent more than 20 years behind the bars.
Passing the order on May 13 last, a division bench, comprising Justice V K Shukla and Justice Umesh Chandra Srivastava, turned down the jailed gangster's plea that during the pendency of his application (for grant of remission) dated 14.9.2013, he be freed on bail.
Currently lodged in Bareilly Central Jail, he is serving life sentence awarded by a TADA court at Kanpur for the murder of a customs official in Allahabad.

Better known by his nickname "Babloo", Om Prakash Srivastava was arrested from Singapore in 1995 after having been declared an absconder and issuance of a red corner notice.
He has been named in a number of criminal cases.
His plea for bail was pressed by senior advocate K T S Tulsi who had contended before the court that "the personal liberty of the petitioner has been taken casually by the state" and that the application moved in the year 2013 had "deliberately not been decided".

Appearing on behalf of the state government, Additional Advocate General Mohd Imran Ullah submitted that "no case for bail is made out as the petitioner is a known habitual offender and even while in jail he has involved himself in serious criminal activity".

The court disposed of Srivastava's petition with the direction that "within a period of two months from the date of judgement, all attempt and endeavour shall be made by the state to complete the record in question and thereafter forthwith transfer the papers for consultation with the central government".
"It is expected that the central government, from the date of receiving of the said papers in question, would deal with the matter preferably within next two months thereafter and outcome of the final decision would be informed to the petitioner", the court added.