UP court orders FIR against Union MoS, four others in land dispute case

Officials said Special Judge Apeksha Singh of the MP-MLA Court on Monday directed Mankapur police to file an FIR against Kirti Vardhan Singh, Rajesh Singh, Pinku Singh, Sahdev Yadav, and Kanti Singh

A court in Uttar Pradesh's Gonda district has directed the police to register an FIR against Union Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh, his representative Rajesh Singh, and three others in connection with an alleged land dispute case.

According to officials, the order was issued on Monday by Special Judge of the MP-MLA Court (Civil Judge, Senior Division) Apeksha Singh, who instructed Mankapur police station to lodge an FIR against Kirti Vardhan Singh, Rajesh Singh, Pinku Singh, Sahdev Yadav and Kanti Singh.

The complainant, Ajay Singh, a resident of Bhitoura in the Mankapur area, had moved the court under Section 173(4) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, seeking registration of a case against the accused.

Ajay Singh has alleged that land registered in the name of his wife Manisha Singh was fraudulently transferred again by influencing and luring the original seller, Bittan Devi, to execute a backdated sale deed in favour of Mithlesh Rastogi and Kanti Singh using a three-year-old stamp paper.

He claimed that when he complained, the superintendent of police ordered an inquiry, which confirmed the allegations. Based on the SP's directions, police registered a case in 2024 against the seller and the buyers under relevant sections, but later filed a final report closing the matter.

Ajay Singh said he objected to the closure, and in March 2025, the court set aside the final report and ordered further investigation, which is still underway.

In the meantime, Rajesh Singh allegedly lodged a false case against Ajay Singh and his wife at the local police station in 2024. After the court's order for further investigation, Rajesh Singh allegedly used his political influence to harass the couple, they said.

Through his driver Rinku Singh, he purportedly got another case registered against the couple under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and other sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, with the aim of pressuring them to settle the dispute.

Ajay Singh alleged that since then, the accused have been threatening him to stop pursuing cases related to the disputed land and agree to a settlement, warning that his family would be killed if he refused.

He said that despite repeated complaints to the police, no action was taken, prompting him to approach the court.

Reacting to the development, Rajesh Singh, the Union minister's representative, said he had come to know about the matter through the media and would comment only after receiving a copy of the court order.