New Delh: In a relief to Mau MLA Abbas Ansari, the Supreme Court on Friday refused to interfere with the Allahabad High Court order staying his conviction in a 2022 hate speech case, effectively allowing him to continue as a member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly.
A Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul Pancholi dismissed the Uttar Pradesh government’s plea challenging the Allahabad High Court order, which had granted relief to Ansari, the son of late gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari.
The Allahabad High Court, in its August 20, 2025, order, had set aside the Sessions Court’s refusal to stay Ansari’s conviction and held that the case warranted exercise of the appellate court’s power in “rare and exceptional circumstances”.
“The conviction of the revisionist deprived his constituency of legitimate representation… refusal to stay his conviction amounts to injustice not only to the revisionist but also to the electorate,” a single-judge Bench of Justice Sameer Jain had observed.
The order further said that prima facie, the ingredients of offences under Sections 153A and 171F IPC were not made out on the basis of the material on record.
It added that merely delivering a speech critical of the administration could not be construed as promoting enmity between groups or exercising undue influence in elections.
The case stems from a March 2022 election speech in Mau, where Ansari allegedly made inflammatory remarks targeting government officials.
A local MP-MLA court had, on May 31, 2025, sentenced him to two years’ imprisonment, triggering disqualification under Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act.
Following his conviction, the Uttar Pradesh Assembly Secretariat had terminated his membership and initiated steps for a by-election. However, after the Allahabad High Court stayed his conviction, the Secretariat restored his membership in September 2025 in compliance with the judicial order.
Ansari had won the Mau seat in the 2022 Assembly elections. His alleged remarks during the campaign, warning officials of “accountability” if the Samajwadi Party came to power, had triggered the criminal proceedings. “I have told the Samajwadi Party chief, Akhilesh Yadav, that after the formation of the government, there will be no transfers or postings for six months. Everyone will remain where they are. First, there will be ‘Hisab-Kitab’, only then will transfers take place,” he had said.
The statement was deemed threatening and inflammatory, prompting the Election Commission of India (ECI) to impose a ban on his campaigning at the time. His speech went viral on social media. Following this, a criminal case was registered against him at Kotwali Nagar police station in 2022. During the trial, six witnesses deposed before the court.
(IANS)
