Allahabad HC suspends murder conviction of man eyeing BJP ticket

Livelihood of a common man not less important than the right to contest election by a politician, the High Court ruled.

Prayagraj: The Allahabad High Court has suspended the conviction and life sentence of a murder convict who wants to contest the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, preferably on a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket or otherwise as an independent.

A bench of Justice Siddharth and Justice Vinai Kumar Dwivedi passed the order on October 5 on a plea by Nandlal Rai alias Babloo Rai.

Rai’s counsel told the court that the man was an active BJP worker before his conviction. His counsel said he wished to contest the polls “as independent candidate or if possible from BJP.”

A Varanasi court had sentenced Rai to life imprisonment in April 2025. The Allahabad High Court granted him bail and stayed his conviction until his appeal against it is decided.

“Under the totality, facts and circumstances we are of the view that the conviction and sentence awarded to the appellant deserves to be stayed during the pendency of this appeal,” the bench said.

Accused a common man: Allahabad High Court

The court noted that the Supreme Court has stayed the convictions of several public representatives. It said the top court had done so on the reasoning that politicians owe a special duty to their constituents and could lose the chance to contest elections if their convictions remained in force.

Extending that reasoning, the bench said, “Keeping in view the right to livelihood of a common man which is not less important than the right to contest election by a politician, conviction and sentence of appellant deserves to be stayed so that he may be able to survive for hearing the final verdict in his above noted appeal.”

Under the Representation of the People Act, a person convicted and sentenced to two years or more in jail is barred from contesting elections. The disqualification does not apply if an appellate court stays the conviction.

What the defence argued

Seeking Rai’s release, his lawyers argued that the victim was politically active and that Rai had been implicated on mere suspicion and conjecture.

They said the prosecution’s case rested largely on circumstantial evidence. They also pointed to the delay in Rai’s name surfacing during the investigation, doubtful eyewitness accounts and questionable recovery of the murder weapon.

According to media reports, Rai was among those convicted of murdering Pramod Kumar Nigam, described as an active member of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. The reports also linked Rai to the late gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari.