Bahraich, January 5: A local court has sentenced a BJP MLA to two years in prison in a 21-year-old case, a jail term that could lead to his disqualification from the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, a government counsel said on Friday. Sureshwar Singh, an MLA from Mahasi assembly seat of this district, was convicted on Thursday for threatening a Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) in 2002, district government counsel (criminal) Munnu Lal Mishra told PTI.

The court granted bail to the MLA after the sentencing, Mishra said. Under the provisions of the Representation of the People Act (RPA) 1951, any public representative sentenced to imprisonment of two years or more is disqualified from the date of sentence and is barred from contesting elections for the next six years after serving the sentence. Uttar Pradesh: Six MLAs Faced Disqualification in Past Five Years After Conviction by Courts.

According to the prosecution, on September 2, 2002, SDM of Mahasi tehsil Lal Mani Mishra had filed a case against the Mahasi MLA at the Hardi police station here. The SDM had alleged that Singh had barged into his office and created obstruction in government work.

The complainant also said that the MLA misbehaved with him and threatened him. On Friday, the MP-MLA court of Judge Anupam Dixit sentenced Singh to two years of imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 2,500. According to the order, if the MLA fails to pay the fine, he will have to serve seven more days in jail. Uttar Pradesh: BJP MLA Ramdular Gond Gets 25 Years in Jail for Raping Minor, Faces Disqualification From State Assembly.

After the sentencing, the BJP MLA who was in the courtroom applied for bail that was granted by the court. According to the police, Singh had gone to the then SDM's office in September, 2002 regarding a public matter when he had a clash with the officer over some issue, following which an FIR was lodged.

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