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 over 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.
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.
Afzal's
brother Mukhtar Ansari died earlier this year.