The Allahabad High Court on Monday stayed till May 16 the arrest of Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav and six others in connection with the FIR regarding the filming of an in-house BSP meeting and subsequent release of its video cassette and CDs to the media.

The petitioners had prayed for quashing the criminal case filed by BSP state unit president K K Sachan on April 14 at the Hazratganj police station.

A Lucknow bench of the court comprising Justice Vishnu Sahay and R C Pandey, while hearing the petition of the SP chief and six others including senior leaders Azam Khan, Shivpal Singh Yadav, Balram Yadav, Ambika Chaudhary, O P Singh and C B Singh, said the petition would now be taken up on May 16 next.

Appearing on behalf of Mulayam Singh Yadav and others, senior counsel Virendra Bhatia said the FIR was concocted and malafide and hence no case could be made out of it.

Referring to a similar petition earlier filed by SP general secretary Amar Singh, whose arrest had been stayed till May 16, Bhatia pleaded that the court may also stay the arrest of these leaders on the same grounds.