The Allahabad bench, led by Justice Siddharth and Justice Vinai Kumar Dwivedi, ordered the stay on Nandlal Rai’s 2025 murder conviction on Oct. 5, 2026— a decision that also granted him bail.
Rai, a former BJP worker known as Babloo Rai, was sentenced after a 2017 murder in Sigra police station, Varanasi, where Pramod Kumar Nigam, a Ram Janmabhoomi activist, was killed. The case traced back to a minor dispute, with Rai allegedly linked to gangster‑turned‑politician Mukhtar Ansari.
In its ruling, the court cited the Supreme Court’s 2023 Afjal Ansari decision, which bars the conviction of public representatives when it may bar them from contesting elections. The High Court noted Rai’s political stature and the right to livelihood, arguing that a conviction without a stay could strip him of the chance to run in 2027.
The stay opens the door for Rai to appeal the final verdict and, if cleared, to field either as an independent or on a BJP ticket in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh assembly polls. Party insiders say the move could shift local dynamics, as Rai’s name has already stirred chatter among voters in the Varanasi‑Nagpur corridor.