Prayagraj (The Hawk): Vikram Saini, a disqualified BJP MLA, filed a criminal appeal on Tuesday, appealing his conviction in a case involving the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots. The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday postponed its decision.
After hearing from Saini's and the state's attorneys, Justice Samit Gopal reserved the order. Tuesday's court sessions featured arguments for Saini from senior attorney I K Chaturvedi and Aditya Upadhya.
As a government led by an opposing party was in power when the Muzaffarnagar riots took place, Chaturvedi claimed that his client was included in the case due to political animosity. They added that there is no public witness accessible and that the case involves no injuries.
Additionally, it was argued on behalf of the appellant that Saini's assembly seat in Khatauli had been declared vacant and that Saini had been barred from serving as an MLA as a result of his conviction. Additionally, because he was found guilty by a court, section 8 of the Representation of the People Act prohibits him from running in elections for the following six years.
Therefore, in light of that, the attorneys further argued, his conviction may be postponed in the interest of justice. On December 5, there will be a byelection for the Khatauli assembly seat.
The state government attorney opposed the request to overturn the conviction on the grounds that Saini was a suspect and had been charged. The attorney claimed that during the inquiry, the police discovered him to be connected to the alleged offences.
Earlier, on November 18, the High Court had suspended Saini's sentence from the riot case that had been handed down by a lower court. In the same instance, the judge also granted him bail.
(Inputs from Agencies)