Sanjay Sinh

Sanjaya Sinh (born 25 September 1951), also known as Sanjay Singh, is an Indian politician and a former member of the Rajya Sabha. He was twice elected to the Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh during the 1980s and held state ministerial posts. In 1990, he became a member of the upper house of the Parliament of India, which is known as the Rajya Sabha, and in 1998 he was elected to the lower house, called the Lok Sabha. His term in the 12th Lok Sabha session lasted until 1999. In 2009, he was successful in obtaining a second term in that house as a member of the 15th Lok Sabha representing the Sultanpur constituency of Uttar Pradesh. He represented the state of Assam in the Rajya Sabha. He resigned from Rajya Sabha and Indian National Congress to join Bharatiya Janata Party on 30 July 2019.

Singh has held various ministerial portfolios and committee positions over the years, including as Union Minister for Communications in 1991. Sinh belongs to the erstwhile royal family of Amethi and is the current head of the Bandhalgoti clan of Rajputs. His father was Raja Rananjay Singh. and later by the Supreme Court of India. He married the widow of Badminton player Syed Modi, Ameeta Singh in April 1995. He also adopted Ameeta's daughter from her previous marriage.

A part of his education was at the city's Ranvir Rananjay Post-Graduate College and he gained an MA in Hindi and a PhD from Awadh University.

Aside from his involvement in politics, he has listed his professions as being an agriculturalist, pilot and a social worker. He holds the rank of Major (retired) in the Indian Territorial Army and also has a private pilot's licence. Although Singh stood again as the BJP candidate in the elections of 1999, when he faced a challenge from the widow of Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia, who defeated Singh.

He rejoined the INC in 2003, choosing to announce his move on the birth anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi. The investigation was urged upon the CBI by the government of Uttar Pradesh and in November 1988 , Ameeta Modi, Singh and another politician, Akhilesh Kumar Singh, were charged with conspiracy to commit murder. Four others were charged with the murder itself. Subsequently, Modi, Sanjay Singh and Akilesh Singh successfully challenged the charges laid against them, resulting in the charges against Modi and Sanjay Singh being dropped in September 1990 and those against Akilesh Singh following the same course in 1996. The Supreme Court upheld the rulings of the lower courts.

Assault on Sanjay Singh The campaign for November 1989 elections was blighted by large scale violence. Sanjay Singh, campaigning for Janata Dal, was shot at, and had to be hospitalised in serious condition.

Disputed divorce and disputed remarriage Singh claims to be married to Modi's widow, Ameeta, but his first wife, Garima, has contested the legitimacy of the marriage. Both the Allahabad High Court and the Supreme Court of India have declared the alleged mutual divorce between herself and Singh in 1995 to be null and void. Singh has accepted the court rulings but denies her claim that they were made because he arranged for an imposter to portray her in the divorce case. Despite the rulings, he maintains that Ameeta is his legally wedded wife.

Inheritance dispute In 2014, the marital arrangements resulted in a public dispute regarding property inheritance. Singh and his wife, Ameeta, live at Bhupati Bhawan, a 450-year-old former royal palace in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh, that Garima had to leave around the time of the now-voided divorce. In July 2014, Garima returned to claim the right of inheritance for her son and grandson which she felt was endangered because, she claims, Ameeta had been selling the properties as well as transferring them into the charitable trust headed by her.

On 25 July 2014, Garima Singh reached the palace along with her children. A row developed between her party and people guarding the building, news of which soon spread to nearby villages and attracted people who supported her and her eldest son, Anant Vikram Singh. A fight ensued.

On 14 September 2014 Sanjay and Ameeta were about to enter the palace, where Garima and the children were now living, when clashes erupted between the opposing supporters. Police resorted to a baton charge to control the situation. Several people were severely injured, there were claims of police brutality and a policeman was killed.

During the inheritance dispute, Anant Vikram Singh has demanded a further CBI inquiry into the killing of Syed Modi.

A 2020 ZEE5 web series The Chargesheet: Innocent or Guilty is based on the sensational murder of Syed Modi, though it does not officially acknowledge so, where the characters of Table Tennis player Shiraz Malik, his wife Antara Dixit, politician Ranveer Pratap Singh and his wife Chitrangada Singh prime-facie very apparently resemble Badminton player Syed Modi, his wife Amita Singh, then Amita Modi, Sanjay Sinh and his wife Garima Singh.