Ghazipur MP Afzal Ansari Challenges Gangsters’ Act Conviction in High Court, Cites Acquittal in Main Case

On Tuesday, Ghazipur MP Afzal Ansari challenged his conviction under the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act in the High Court of Allahabad. Ansari’s appeal follows a ruling by a Ghazipur trial court that convicted him in connection to the 2005 murder of BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai. His legal team, led by senior lawyers G. S. Chaturvedi and Upendra Upadhya, argued that his acquittal in the main murder case should invalidate his Gangsters’ Act conviction.

The lawyers contended that among the seven accused in the murder case, only Ansari, his brother, and another politically active individual were selectively prosecuted under the Gangsters’ Act. They emphasized that the witnesses were identical in both the murder case and the Gangsters’ Act case, highlighting the perceived unfairness of the latter conviction.

Justice Sanjay Kumar Singh, after hearing the appellant’s counsel, directed that the hearing would continue on Wednesday. The court will then listen to the arguments from the State Government’s counsel.

The High Court is also considering the Uttar Pradesh government’s appeal for an enhanced sentence for Ansari under the Gangsters’ Act, along with a criminal revision petition filed by Piyush Rai, the son of Krishnanand Rai, seeking a harsher penalty.

Afzal Ansari was previously disqualified as an MP following the special MP-MLA court’s April 29, 2023, verdict that sentenced him to four years in prison and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh. Although the High Court granted him bail on July 24, 2023, it did not stay his conviction, which led to his release from jail but did not restore his parliamentary membership or his eligibility to contest future elections due to the sentence exceeding two years.

However, the Supreme Court later stayed Ansari’s conviction, reinstating his parliamentary membership and eligibility to contest elections. The apex court also expedited the hearing of the criminal appeal pending before the High Court, setting a decision deadline of June 30.

Afzal Ansari, a candidate from the Samajwadi Party for the Ghazipur Lok Sabha constituency, had previously won the election on a Bahujan Samaj Party ticket. His conviction under the Gangsters’ Act was based on his alleged involvement in the 2005 murder of Krishnanand Rai, a charge for which he was acquitted in the main case.

In the 2007 Gangsters’ Act case, the special MP-MLA Court sentenced Ansari to four years and his younger brother, Mukhtar Ansari, to ten years. Mukhtar Ansari, a noted gangster and politician, passed away from cardiac arrest on March 28 while serving his sentence.

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