The Allahabad High Court suspended Nandlal Rai's conviction and life sentence while hearing his appeal. The relief allows him to pursue his 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election bid.
The Allahabad High Court has suspended thelife sentence of a murder convict who wants to contest the 2027 Uttar PradeshAssembly elections, observing that the right to contest polls is akin to theright to livelihood. The court granted relief to Nandlal Rai, aka Bablu Rai,while hearing his appeal against the conviction.
A division bench of Justices Siddhartha andVinay Kumar Dwivedi noted that the Supreme Court, while staying the convictionsof various public representatives, had recognised their special duty towardvoters and the consequences of losing the opportunity to contest elections if aconviction is not stayed.
“Keeping in mind the common man's right tolivelihood, which is no less important than a politician's right to contestelections, the appellant's conviction and sentence should be stayed to enablehim to live until the final decision in his appeal is heard,” the court said.
Rai was sentenced to life imprisonment by aVaranasi court in April 2025 in connection with the murder of Pramod KumarNigam, an active member of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. Media reports havealso linked Rai to gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari.
His counsel sought bail and a stay on theconviction, arguing that Rai had not been named in the first information reportand that his alleged involvement surfaced only about 17 days after it wasregistered.
The defence also questioned theprosecution's reliance on circumstantial evidence, the credibility ofeyewitness testimony and the recovery of the alleged murder weapon. It arguedthat Nigam's political activities had led to Rai being implicated on the basisof suspicion and conjecture.
Rai's lawyer told the court that he hadbeen an active BJP worker before his conviction and wanted to contest next year’sUttar Pradesh polls as an independent candidate or, if possible, on a BJPticket.
The High Court granted Rai bail andsuspended his conviction and sentence pending the final decision on his appeal,allowing him to pursue his electoral ambitions while the case remains underconsideration.
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Inputs by Anand Raj, PTI