The Allahabad High Court has set aside the conviction of Abbas Ansari, son of Mukhtar Ansari, in a 2022 hate speech case. Justice Samir Jain quashed the two-year jail term imposed by the special MP-MLA court.
Prayagraj: On August 20, the Allahabad High Court has given relief to Abbas Ansari, the son of jailed gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, by quashing his conviction in a 2022 hate speech case. The order was passed on Wednesday, August 20, by Justice Samir Jain, who set aside the judgment of a special MP-MLA court that had earlier sentenced him to two years of rigorous imprisonment.
In May this year, the special court in Mau had found Abbas Ansari guilty and sentenced him to two years’ imprisonment in connection with a speech delivered during the 2022 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections. Along with the jail term, the court also imposed a fine of Rs 2,000 on him.
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His election agent, Mansoor Ansari, who was present on stage at the time of the speech, was also convicted and sentenced to six months’ imprisonment.
Abbas Ansari had first challenged the conviction before the appellate court. However, his plea was dismissed on July 5. Following that setback, he approached the Allahabad High Court, which has now ruled in his favour.
The charges against Abbas were framed under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) — Section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups), Section 189 (threat of injury to a public servant), Section 506 (criminal intimidation), and Section 171F (undue influence or personation at an election).
The controversy arose from a speech delivered by Abbas Ansari during the 2022 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections when he was contesting from the Mau Sadar constituency on a Samajwadi Party ticket.
In his speech, Abbas allegedly threatened government officials with consequences if the Samajwadi Party came to power.
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His exact words were:
“I have told Akhilesh bhaiya (former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav) that after formation of the 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 to be settled), only then will transfer take place.”
This statement became the basis of the case registered against him, as it was alleged to be an attempt to intimidate officials and influence the election process.
Despite the controversy, Abbas Ansari went on to win the 2022 assembly election from the Mau constituency by more than 38,000 votes.
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At that time, he contested as a candidate of the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), which was in alliance with the Samajwadi Party.
With the High Court’s latest order, Abbas Ansari has now been acquitted of the charges that had led to his conviction by the lower courts.
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