Allahabad High Court sets aside Afzal Ansari's conviction, he can continue as MP
Prayagraj, Jul 29: 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 in a case linked to 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 in the Gangsters Act case.
Afzal's brother gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari died earlier this year.
The court recalled that Ansari had already been acquitted in the "base case" of 2005, in which allegation of hatching conspiracy was levelled against him, before framing of charges under Section 3(1) of the Gangsters Act against him on September 23, 2022.
While setting aside the Ghazipur court's order the high court said that the prosecution could not prove its case and charges against the appellant "beyond reasonable doubt".
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.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
