UP MLA Abbas Ansari loses seat after court conviction in hate speech case

Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) legislator Abbas Ansari on Sunday was disqualified from the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly after being convicted in a hate speech case, reported PTI. Ansari, who represented the Mau Sadar constituency, had won his seat in the 2022 state elections. Following his conviction, the seat has been declared vacant.

A special MP-MLA court in Uttar Pradesh sentenced Ansari to two years in prison on Saturday in connection with a hate speech he delivered during the 2022 Assembly election campaign. The case stems from a public address he made on March 3, 2022, at Paharpur ground, where he allegedly issued threats to local authorities.

According to the prosecution, Ansari had warned the Mau administration during the rally that he would “settle scores and teach them a lesson” after the elections.


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Defence lawyer Daroga Singh told PTI that Ansari had been booked under several sections of the Indian Penal Code, including:

• Section 189 (threat to cause harm to public servant),
• Section 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on the basis of religion, caste, place of birth, residence and language and spoiling the harmony),
• Section 171F (undue influence in election),
• and Section 506 (criminal intimidation).

After considering arguments from both sides, Judge K.P. Singh of the special MP/MLA court found Ansari guilty and sentenced him to:

• Two years each under Sections 189 and 153-A,
• One year under Section 506,
• And six months under Section 171F.

All sentences will run concurrently. In addition, Ansari has been fined ₹2,000.

As per the Representation of the People Act, any legislator sentenced to two years or more is liable to be disqualified from the legislative assembly.

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Ansari, son of late gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, had entered politics in 2022 and won his first election from Mau Sadar as a candidate of the SBSP, which was then in alliance with the Samajwadi Party. The SBSP is now aligned with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition, and its president currently serves as a cabinet minister in the state government.

Mukhtar Ansari, who represented the Mau Sadar seat for several terms, died of a cardiac arrest in March 2024 while lodged in Banda district jail.

With inputs from PTI