New Delhi, April 7 The Delhi High Court on Tuesday issued notices to the Madhya Pradesh government and the Election Commission of India (ECI) on multiple petitions filed by Congress leader Rajendra Bharti, who has been convicted and sentenced in a Rural Development Bank fraud case.
The High Court denied him any interim relief at this stage.
The court sought the Madhya Pradesh government’s response to Bharti’s plea challenging his conviction and three-year sentence awarded by a Special MP-MLA court in New Delhi on April 1.
It also issued notice on his separate petition seeking a stay on the conviction and sentence, but refrained from passing any immediate order in his favour.
The High Court also issued notice on Bharti’s plea seeking directions to the ECI not to announce the election schedule for the Datia Assembly constituency, which fell vacant following his disqualification after conviction. However, the court did not stay the election process or restrain the poll panel from proceeding.
The matter has been listed for further hearing on April 15, when the court is expected to consider the responses of the authorities and decide on interim relief, if any.
Bharti moved the High Court seeking urgent intervention, contending that the announcement of the election schedule would cause irreparable harm to his political career while his appeal against conviction remains pending.
On April 1, a Special MP-MLA court in Delhi convicted Bharti in the Rural Development Bank fraud case and sentenced him to three years’ imprisonment. The trial court, however, granted him bail, allowing him to remain out of custody while pursuing legal remedies.
Following the conviction, Bharti was disqualified as an MLA, rendering the Datia Assembly seat vacant and triggering the possibility of a bypoll.
The state Assembly secretariat issued a notification around midnight on Thursday, terminating his membership hours after the MP-MLA court in Delhi pronounced the sentence in the 28-year-old cooperative bank fraud case.
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