The Allahabad High Court on Friday suspended a two-year jail sentence of disqualified Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Vikram Saini in the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots case, Live Law reported.

The former MLA from Khatauli constituency of Uttar Pradesh and 11 others were sentenced to two years in prison and asked to pay a fine of Rs 10,000 by a Muzaffarnagar court in October.

Saini and the others were accused of participating in the violence that broke out in the district’s Kawaal village after the final rites of two cousins – Sachin and Gaurav – who were allegedly lynched by a group of Muslims in August 2013. Saini, who was the village head at the time, was accused of instigating the crowd which took part in the final rites of the cousins.

The deaths in the village had triggered communal violence in the district, in which 65 persons were killed and thousands of Muslim families were displaced. There were also several reports of sexual assault and abuse in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts.

On Friday, Justice Samit Gopal of the Allahabad High Court suspended Saini’s sentence while hearing an appeal filed by the MLA challenging his conviction.

Saini’s lawyer argued that his client had already been granted interim bail by the Muzaffarnagar court which sentenced him to two years of jail, Live Law reported. The lawyer also said that Saini has been acquitted in three other cases related to the riots.

The matter will next be heard on November 21.

Saini was disqualified as an MLA on November 7 for being sentenced in the case. The bye-polls to the Khatauli Assembly seat will be held on December 5.