Overview
- The Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly Secretariat issued a notification on Monday reinstating Abbas Ansari as MLA for Mau Sadar with immediate effect.
- Principal secretary Pradeep Dubey said the High Court’s August 20 order meant Ansari’s disqualification under Article 191(d) read with Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act ceased to operate.
- Assembly speaker Satish Mahana confirmed the restoration and said the House had sought legal opinion before issuing the order.
- Justice Sameer Jain of the Allahabad High Court stayed the conviction citing potential injustice to the representative and voters, referencing a 2024 Supreme Court ruling in the Rahul Gandhi case.
- Ansari was convicted this year in a 2022 hate-speech case and sentenced to two years’ rigorous imprisonment by the MP/MLA court in Mau, triggering automatic disqualification and a vacant seat that will now not require a by-election while appeals continue.