Sultanpur (UP), Jan 16 (PTI) A special MP-MLA court here on Thursday issued non-bailable warrants (NBWs) against former Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA Santosh Pandey and 10 others for missing hearings in a poll code violation case.

Special Magistrate Shubham Verma passed the order after the accused failed to record their statements in two consecutive hearings in the 2022 case.

Also Read | Maha Kumbh Mela 2025: Over 2.5 Million Devotees Take Holy Dip at Triveni Sangam on Fourth Day of Mahakumbh.

According to Special Public Prosecutor Vaibhav Pandey, two FIRs were lodged at Kotwali Dehat police station, alleging that Santosh Pandey, then SP MLA from Lambhua, and 12 of his supporters organized public meetings without administrative approval during the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.

The complaints were filed by block development officer Sandeep Singh.

Also Read | Delhi Assembly Elections 2025: Congress Promises INR 500 LPG Cylinder, Free Ration, Electricity up to 300 Units.

The accused are charged with violating Model Code of Conduct (MCC) provisions and COVID-19 pandemic guidelines.

The special public prosecutor argued that cross-examination of all prosecution witnesses had been completed, and only the statements of the accused were pending. However, their repeated absence disrupted court proceedings, he said.

On Thursday, two of the accused, Parmatma Yadav and Satyapal Singh, were present while 11 others, including the former MLA, were absent.

The court issued NBWs against them and set January 23 as the next date of hearing in the case.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)