LUCKNOW: Mau Sadar MLA Abbas Ansari, son of gangster-turned-politician the late Mukhtar Ansari, was on Saturday convicted by a local court in Mau district, eastern Uttar Pradesh, in connection with a hate speech case filed during the 2022 UP Assembly elections. He has been sentenced to two years in prison, which is likely to result in the loss of his Assembly membership.
Abbas’s election agent, Mansoor Ansari, who was present on stage during the controversial speech, was also convicted in the case and sentenced to six months in jail. Meanwhile, Abbas’s younger brother, Umer Ansari, who was also present at the venue of the public meeting, was acquitted by the court.
According to Abbas Ansari’s lawyer, Daroga Singh, both Abbas and Mansoor submitted bail bonds of Rs 20,000 each and were granted bail.
Ansari was booked after delivering a poll speech in which he allegedly threatened state government officials with consequences if a Samajwadi Party government came to power.
The speech was delivered during the campaign for the 2022 Assembly polls, when OP Rajbhar's Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) was in alliance with the Samajwadi Party and had been allotted the Mau seat to contest.
However, under pressure from SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, SBSP fielded SP candidate Abbas Ansari on its symbol from Mau Sadar.
While addressing the rally, Ansari said: “I have told Akhilesh ji that after formation of government, there will be no transfer or postings of bureaucrats for six months. Everyone will remain where they are. First there will be ‘hisab-kitab’ (scores will be settled), only then the transfers will take place.”
Following this, he was charged under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code: 506 (criminal intimidation), 171F (undue influence or personation at an election), 186 (obstructing a public servant in discharge of public functions), 189 (threat of injury to a public servant), 153A (promoting enmity among different groups on grounds such as religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc.), and 120B (criminal conspiracy).
According to a Supreme Court ruling, the membership of any lawmaker sentenced to two years or more of imprisonment stands automatically terminated.
“On receiving the copy of the court order, the Assembly Secretariat declares the seat concerned vacant and sends the information to the Chief Electoral Officer of the state, who in turn sends the proposal to the Election Commission of India to hold a by-poll on the vacated seat,” said Pradeep Dubey, Principal Secretary, Assembly Secretariat.
However, Abbas Ansari has the option of appealing the decision in higher courts, including the Allahabad High Court and subsequently the Supreme Court. If the High Court stays the Mau court’s order, the disqualification proceedings would also be halted.
