The Allahabad High Court has overturned a Ghazipur court’s decision sentencing Samajwadi Party MP Afzal Ansari to four years’ imprisonment under the Gangsters Act in connection with the 2005 murder of BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai.
Justice S K Singh’s ruling in favor of Ansari’s appeal against the conviction allows the SP MP to continue serving as a member of Parliament.
The court also rejected pleas from the UP government and Piyush Kumar Rai, son of Krishnanand Rai, which sought an increased sentence for Ansari in the Gangsters Act case. Following his conviction, Afzal Ansari had been disqualified as an MP and subsequently filed a criminal appeal with the high court.
Under the Representation of the People Act, any MP or state legislator sentenced to imprisonment for two years or more is disqualified from the date of conviction and remains disqualified for an additional six years after serving their sentence. On July 24, 2023, the high court granted bail to Ansari, a five-time MLA and two-time MP, but did not stay his conviction. As a result, although Ansari was released from jail, his parliamentary membership was not restored.
However, the Supreme Court later stayed his conviction, thereby restoring his parliamentary membership and making him eligible to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha election. The Supreme Court also directed the high court to expedite the hearing of his appeal, with the judgment being reserved on July 4 this year.
Afzal Ansari’s brother, Mukhtar Ansari, passed away earlier this year.
