Court turns down Pappu Yadav's plea to contest poll

Patna, April 2 (IANS) The Patna High Court Thursday rejected Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Rajesh Ranjan Yadav alias Pappu Yadav's plea to suspend his conviction in a criminal case so that he could contest the coming Lok Sabha election.

A division bench of the court rejected the petition of Yadav, who has been sentenced to life imprisonment by a lower court for murdering Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) legislator Ajit Sarkar in 1998. Yadav, the sitting MP from Madhepura, is currently out on bail.

The firebrand CPI-M leader, who had a running feud with Yadav over issues relating to farm labourers, was shot dead, along with his driver Harendra Sharma and party worker Ashfaqur Rehman, at Subhas Nagar in the state's Purnea town on June 14, 1998.

Special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) judge B.M. Srivastava had Feb 14 pronounced Yadav, former independent legislator Rajan Tiwari and Anil Yadav guilty and awarded them life terms.

The high court had last month reserved its order on Yadav's petition after hearing arguments of both sides.

Meanwhile, the RJD is yet to nominate a candidate from Madhepura seat as the party was waiting for the court's decision on Yadav's plea to contest election. His father Chandradeo Prasad Yadav is now likely to be fielded by the party from the seat.

Last month, another RJD MP Mohammad Shahabuddin's plea for suspension of conviction to be able to contest election was dismissed by the Patna High Court. Shahabuddin is MP from Siwan and currently lodged in jail.

The RJD has now fielded his wife Hina Sahab from Siwan.