Allahabad High Court Stays Conviction of BJP Worker Nandlal Rai in 2017 Murder Case

The Allahabad High Court has stayed the conviction and sentence of a man convicted in a 2017 murder case after noting that he wished to contest the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election as an independent candidate or, if possible, on a BJP ticket, according to a PTI report. A division bench of Justices Siddharth and Vinai Kumar Dwivedi passed the order on a criminal appeal filed by Nandlal Rai alias Babloo Rai, who was convicted by a Varanasi sessions court in 2025 in connection with the murder case registered at Sigra police station in 2017, PTI reported. The high court granted him bail and stayed his conviction and sentence during the pendency of the appeal, noting that he was a political figure and an active Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker before his conviction, according to the report. "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," the court said, as quoted by PTI. In its October 5 order, the high court referred to a 2023 Supreme Court judgment in Afjal Ansari vs State of Uttar Pradesh . It noted that the apex court had stayed the convictions of several public representatives, observing that politicians had special responsibilities towards their constituents and that a conviction could deprive them of the opportunity to contest elections. Rai had sought bail and a stay on his conviction, arguing that he had not been named in the first information report (FIR) and that his alleged involvement in the murder was disclosed only around 17 days after the FIR was registered, according to PTI. The case concerns the murder of Pramod Kumar Nigam, an active member of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. Rai was associated with gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari and was accused of murdering Nigam over a minor dispute. During the hearing, Rai's counsel argued that Nigam was politically active and that Rai had been implicated in the case on the basis of suspicion and conjecture. After considering the submissions and the circumstances of the case, the high court held that Rai's conviction and sentence deserved to be stayed while his appeal remained pending, PTI reported. (With inputs from PTI)