Allahabad High Court Sets Aside Afzal Ansari's Conviction, He Can Continue As MP

The court also dismissed pleas by the UP government and Piyush Kumar Rai, Krishnanand Rai's son, seeking enhancement of the Ghazipur MP's sentence in the Gangsters Act case.

Prayagraj: The Allahabad High Court on Monday set aside a Ghazipur court order sentencing Samajwadi Party MP Afzal Ansari to four years' imprisonment under the Gangsters Act in a case linked to the murder of BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai in 2005.

With Justice S K Singh allowing his plea against the conviction, the SP MP can now continue as a member of Parliament.

The court also dismissed pleas by the UP government and Piyush Kumar Rai, Krishnanand Rai's son, seeking enhancement of the Ghazipur MP's sentence in the Gangsters Act case.

Afzal's brother gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari died earlier this year.

The court recalled that Ansari had already been acquitted in the "base case" of 2005, in which allegation of hatching conspiracy was levelled against him, before framing of charges under Section 3(1) of the Gangsters Act against him on September 23, 2022.

While setting aside the Ghazipur court's order the high court said that the prosecution could not prove its case and charges against the appellant "beyond reasonable doubt". An MP-MLA court in Ghazipur had on April 29, 2023, convicted Ansari and sentenced him to four years in jail and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh in the Gangsters Act case.

Following this, Ansari was disqualified as an MP. He then filed a criminal appeal before the high court.

According to the Representation of the People Act, any MP or state legislator sentenced to imprisonment of two years or more is disqualified "from the date of such conviction" and remains disqualified for another six years after serving time.

On July 24, 2023, the high court granted bail to the five-time MLA and two-time MP but declined to stay his conviction in the case. As a result, though Afzal Ansari was released from jail, his membership of Parliament was not restored.

However, later the Supreme Court stayed his conviction. His membership of Parliament was thus restored, and he also became eligible to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

The apex court directed the high court to expedite the hearing of his appeal. The high court's judgment was reserved on July 4 this year. 

(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)