Lucknow, May 27 (IANS): Samajwadi Party MLA Rafiq Ansari from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh has been arrested from Lucknow for not honouring a non-bailable warrant issued to him in a 1995 criminal case from Allahabad High Court, said officials here on Monday.

The SSP had formed a team under the leadership of Circle Officer (CO) Civil Line for his arrest. The warrant issued against MLA Rafiq Ansari in the pending criminal case under sections 147, 436 and 427 of the IPC was challenged in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, MP- MLA, Meerut.

An FIR was registered in September 1995 against 35 to 40 unidentified people in the case and a charge sheet was presented against 22 accused.

Thereafter, a supplementary charge sheet was submitted against the petitioner, of which the concerned court took cognizance in August 1997.

Rafiq Ansari did not appear in the court. A non-bailable warrant was issued on December 12, 1997. After this, 101 non-bailable warrants were issued.

Despite the attachment process under Section 82 CrPC, Rafiq Ansari did not appear in court and went to the High Court against the warrants.

His lawyer had argued that 22 accused were acquitted in the judgment dated May 15, 1997. In such a situation, action against the MLA should be cancelled. However, the court had instructed the DGP in this case to ensure execution of the non-bailable warrant issued by the trial court against Rafiq Ansari.