India News | BJP MLA Murder Case: Allahabad HC Adjourns Hearing on Afzal Ansari's Plea to Wednesday

Prayagraj, Jul 2 (PTI) The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday adjourned till July 3 the hearing on an appeal filed by Ghazipur MP Afzal Ansari challenging a trial court order which sentenced him to four years in jail in the 2005 murder case of BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai.

The case against Afzal was registered under the Gangsters Act.

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Along with Ansari's appeal, the high court is also hearing petitions filed by the Uttar Pradesh government and Rai's son Piyush Kumar seeking enhancement of Afzal's sentence.

On a joint request by the parties, Justice Sanjay Kumar Singh adjourned the hearing on Ansari's appeal till Wednesday.

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If the high court upholds the trial court order, Afzal will lose his membership of Parliament.

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.

Ansari was disqualified as MP after a special MP-MLA court in Ghazipur sentenced him to prison for four years and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on him.

Subsequently, Ansari filed the appeal before the high court.

On July 24, 2023, the high court granted bail to Ansari but declined to stay his conviction in the case.

Later, the Supreme Court stayed Ansari's conviction in the case and as a result, his membership of Parliament was restored. The apex court also directed the high court to expedite the hearing on Ansari's appeal.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)