New Delhi, April 28 (IANS) The Delhi High Court on Tuesday deferred the hearing on the plea of former Congress MLA Rajendra Bharti, who has challenged his conviction in a cooperative bank fraud case, and listed the matter for July 29.

The court also stayed his arrest till the next date of hearing. Bharti is currently out on bail.

The court did not hear detailed arguments on the merits of the appeal. As a result, the conviction awarded by the trial court (Delhi’s MP/MLA court) continues to remain in force for now.

This means Bharti’s disqualification from the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly also continues, and the Datia Assembly seat remains vacant.

The case dates back to 1998 and relates to alleged irregularities in a fixed deposit in the name of Bharti’s mother at the Zila Sahkari Krishi Aur Gramin Vikas Bank, Datia.

According to the prosecution, Bharti and others conspired to manipulate the deposit and continued to draw higher interest even after it had matured.

Bharti was arrested on charges of cheating, forgery, criminal breach of trust, and criminal conspiracy. The matter was later tried by a special MP-MLA court at the Rouse Avenue Court, New Delhi.

After completion of the trial, the court found Bharti and co-accused Raghuvir Sharan Prajapati guilty under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code, including Sections 120B, 420, 467, 468, 471, and 409.

On April 2, the court sentenced Bharti to three years’ imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh.

Following the verdict, Bharti was taken into custody and sent to jail. He later secured bail and subsequently approached the High Court challenging his conviction and sentence.

The conviction led to his immediate disqualification from the Madhya Pradesh Assembly under Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, in line with the 2013 judgment of the Supreme Court of India.

The Assembly Secretariat issued a notification declaring the Datia seat vacant from the date of conviction. Bharti had won the Datia seat in the 2023 Assembly elections by defeating senior BJP leader and former state home minister Narottam Mishra.

The case continues to have both legal and political implications as proceedings remain pending before the High Court.

–IANS

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