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Former MLA awarded 1-yr jail term for ‘indecent’ remarks
The MP/MLA court also slapped a fine of ₹10,000 on the former legislator. The leader was not arrested and secured bail as the nature of the offence isn’t serious.
LUCKNOW/GORAKHPUR Former U.P. chief of Congress and two-time MLA from Kushinagar’s Tamkuhi Raj constituency, Ajay Kumar Lallu, was sentenced to one-year imprisonment in a four-year-old defamation case on Saturday. The court of additional chief judicial magistrate, Ambrish Kumar Srivastava, also slapped a fine of ₹10,000 on the former legislator.
Following the verdict, Lallu said, “I respect the court’s order. I will challenge it in a higher court.” The Congress leader was booked for making ‘defamatory’ remarks against Shrikant Sharma, who served as the energy minister during Yogi Adityanath’s first term as CM. Lallu had accused Shrikant of being involved in the Dewan Housing Finance Corp Limited (DHFL) scam.
Shrikant Sharma scrapped all accusations and demanded an apology from Lallu. Later, when the Congress leader didn’t take back his allegations, Sharma filed a defamation case. In its verdict, the court observed that the chief of a major political party should have exercised restraint and not made the allegation.
The leader was not arrested and secured bail as the nature of the offence isn’t serious. However, as the news of the verdict reached people, several supporters of Lallu reached his residence. Lallu was Tamkuhi Raj MLA in the 16th and 17th U.P. assembly. He lost the election in 2022.
Reacting to the court decision, Nirmala Paswan, district unit president of Congress in Gorakhpur, said anything was possible in the BJP government while adding that those exposing the failures of the government are facing action but Congress would continue its fight against the misrule.
Senior Congress leader and member of the state working committee, Touqeer Alam, said a one-year imprisonment term would not frighten party workers and hailed Lallu as a ‘lion’.
Meanwhile, lawyer KK Mishra, who is also a member of BJP’s legal cell, said, “All allegations against Shrikant Sharma were baseless and politically motivated. The court’s decision has proved this.” Notably, the BJP leader was represented by lawyers Anurag Singh, Gajendra Singh, and Kamal Tewari in the court.
