Gangsters Act case: Allahabad HC reserves verdict on MP Afzal Ansari's plea

Prayagraj: The Allahabad High Court Thursday reserved its judgment on a criminal appeal filed by Ghazipur MP Afzal Ansari challenging his four years’ sentence by a trial court in a Gangsters Act case linked to the 2005 murder of BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai.

Along with Ansari’s plea, the high court also heard petitions filed by the Uttar Pradesh government and Rai’s son Piyush Kumar Rai seeking enhancement of Ansari’s sentence.

Justice Sanjay Kumar Singh reserved his verdict after hearing both the sides.

If the high court upholds the trial court order, Ansari will lose his membership of Parliament. He won the Ghazipur seat on a Samajwadi Party ticket in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

According to the Representation of the People Act, any MP or state legislator sentenced to imprisonment of two years or more shall be disqualified “from the date of such conviction” and remain disqualified for another six years after serving time.

Earlier, an MP-MLA court of Ghazipur had on April 29, 2023, convicted Ansari and sentenced him to four years jail and also imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh in the Gangsters Act case.

Following this, Ansari was disqualified as MP. Thereafter, he filed the present criminal appeal before the high court.

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 he was released from jail, his membership of Parliament was not restored.

Later, the Supreme Court stayed his conviction, as a result, his membership of Parliament was restored, and he also became eligible to contest the Lok Sabha elections. The apex court had directed the high court to expedite the hearing.