High Court dashes Pappu Yadav's hopes

The Patna High Court on Thursday declined to grant permission to Rashtriya Janata Dal Member of Parliament Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav to contest the Lok Sabha election  from Madhepura in Bihar. Yadav has been convicted for the murder of Communist Party of India - Marxist Member of Legislative Assembly Ajit Sarkar.

A division bench of the court comprising Justices Shiv Kirti Singh and Dharnidhar Jha rejected Yadav's petition -- seeking a stay on the life imprisonment handed down to him by a lower court for the murder of CPI-M MLA Ajit Sarkar in 1998 -- to contest the LS polls.

Earlier, the court had reserved its order on the petition after hearing arguments from both sides.

According to Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act of 1951, any person convicted for a crime and sentenced to more than a two-year-long jail term cannot fight elections till six years after the completion of his sentence.

Yadav, currently out on bail, was keen to contest from Madhepura, regarded as his stronghold.

Yadav faces dozens of criminal cases including murder, kidnapping and extortion.

Yadav's wife Ranjeeta Ranjan, a Parliamentarian, is contesting from Supaul on a Lok Janshakti Party ticket.