Jaipur: The Jaipur District Court has sentenced two Congress MLAs, among nine individuals, to one year of imprisonment each in an 11-year-old case.
The court found them guilty of unlawful assembly and blocking a public road during a protest, which was reported on August 13, 2014, when they staged a demonstration and blocked JLN Marg outside the main gate of Rajasthan University for approximately 20 minutes.
However, all convicts were granted bail immediately after sentencing.
According to prosecution officer Kavita Pingolia, the court sentenced nine individuals, including two MLAs — Mukesh Bhakar from Ladnun Assembly seat and Manish Yadav from Shahpura — and Abhishek Chaudhary, a former Congress candidate from the Jhotwara Assembly seat.
Other convicts include Rajesh Meena, Ravi Kirad, Wasim Khan, Dron Yadav, Bhanupratap Singh, and Vidyadhar Meel.
The police had filed the charge sheet on August 11, 2016, and after years of trial, all were found guilty and sentenced.
Following the sentencing, the court granted bail to all the accused. They now have one month to appeal the decision in the High Court and seek a suspension of the sentence.
However, despite the conviction, the MLA status of both Congress leaders remains unaffected. Under current law, the membership of MPs and MLAs is terminated only if the sentence exceeds two years.
For instance, BJP MLA Kanwarlal Meena, who was sentenced to three years for threatening an SDM with a pistol, lost his Assembly membership in May this year. The Assembly issued a notification following the Supreme Court’s rejection of his plea to suspend the sentence. After the apex court’s order, Kanwarlal surrendered before the Aklera court on May 21 and was sent to jail, where he remains incarcerated.
The Assembly Secretariat had issued a notice to BJP MLA Kanwarlal Meena, asking him to clarify by May 7 whether he had obtained any relief from the Supreme Court regarding a stay on his sentence. As the Supreme Court did not grant a stay on the sentence, the Assembly Speaker had no choice but to terminate his membership. With this, the total number of MLAs in the Rajasthan Assembly has been reduced to 199, as the Anta seat now stands vacant.
Meanwhile, the Congress PCC president attacked the BJP over the development and said, “Even after 23 days since the court’s verdict, the membership of BJP’s convicted MLA Kanwarlal Meena was not revoked by the Assembly Speaker. In an attempt to shield the accused, the Speaker not only displayed a biased attitude but also ignored constitutional provisions and the court’s ruling. However, in the end, truth prevailed.”
(IANS)
