The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to stay criminal proceedings initiated against Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai in a trial court in Varanasi under a Gangsters Act case registered in 2010.

A vacation bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Rajesh Bindal issued notice to the UP government on the plea filed by Rai against an order of the Allahabad high court.

The top court posted the matter for hearing on July 15.

The FIR in the case was registered on March 26, 2010 by a man named Bhanu Pratap Singh at Chetganj police station in Varanasi.

Rai recently lost to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a third time from Varanasi in the Lok Sabha elections.

The high court had dismissed the petition filed by Rai and four others, holding that the trial of the case was at an advanced stage and nine witnesses have already been examined.

"Though no limitation period is prescribed for filing a petition under section 482 CrPC but nevertheless the same has to be filed within a reasonable period. It is apparent that there is long and undue delay in filing of this application and at this stage of trial, it is wholly undesirable to quash the proceedings," the high court said.

In the instant matter, it is apparent that no case for quashing of impugned proceedings is made out and this application under section 482 CrPC is devoid of merit, the high court had said.

During the proceedings in the high court, counsel for the petitioners had pleaded that the applicants and the complainant "entered a compromise" on September 28, 2023 and urged it to quash the trial court proceedings under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).

"So far as the alleged compromise between the applicants and complainant for the offence under UP Gangster and Anti Social Activities (Prevention) Act, it is a special Act,” the court observed and refused to interfere in the trial court proceedings.

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