The Supreme Court on Thursday conditionally suspended the conviction of former BSP MP Afzal Ansari in 2007 Gangsters Act case and ruled that he can neither cast vote in Lok Sabha nor draw perks but can attend House proceedings.
The Apex court also directed Allahabad High Court to dispose of ex-BSP MP Afzal Ansari's criminal appeal against conviction and sentence by June 30, 2024. Justice Datta said he has differed in his opinion with the majority verdict and dismissed Ansari's appeal.
On October 31, the top court had reserved its verdict on Ansari's plea seeking the suspension of his conviction in the case. The Allahabad High Court on July 24 refused to suspend the conviction but granted bail to Ansari in the case.
The former MP appealed against the judgment of a special MP/MLA court that had sentenced him to four years of imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh. The special court in Ghazipur had on April 29 convicted Ansari and his brother Mukhtar Ansari, an ex-MLA, in the 2007 Gangsters Act case. While sentencing Afzal Ansari to four years in jail, it awarded 10 years of imprisonment to Mukhtar Ansari.
The brothers were booked under the UP Gangsters Act in connection with the murder of the then BJP MLA from Ghazipur Krishnanad Rai on November 29, 2005, and the kidnapping and murder of Varanasi-based trader Nand Kishore Rungta in 1997.
