SC to hear disqualified SP MLA’s plea for stay on conviction

The Supreme Court will on Friday hear disqualified Samajwadi Party lawmaker Abdullah Azam Khan’s plea for a stay on his conviction, which has necessitated a by-election to his Suar assembly seat on May 10.

Senior advocate Vivek Tankha, who appeared for Khan, said Thursday was the last date for filing nominations for the by-poll.

A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud and justice PS Narasimha agreed to list Khan’s petition.

In March, Khan moved the Supreme Court against an interim order of the Allahabad high court, which issued a notice on his petition against the conviction and posted the matter for a hearing three weeks later. On April 5, the top asked the high court to hear the matter on April 10.

A trial court on February 13 convicted Khan and sentenced him to maximum two-year imprisonment for assaulting and using criminal force against a public servant to deter him from performing his duty during a sit-in. He was disqualified as an assembly member on March 29.

On April 13, the high court said Khan was seeking a stay on “absolutely non-existent” grounds. The court said Khan faces 46 criminal charges and the need to have “purity in politics” demands that public representatives be “men of clear antecedents”.

“Refusal to stay the conviction would not, in any way, result in injustice to the applicant.”

Khan argued his conviction cannot be sustained as he was a minor when slapped with charges he was convicted of.

Any elected representative sentenced for any offence for two years or more faces immediate disqualification under the Representation of People Act.