Himachal HC Grants Interim Anticipatory Bail to MLAs Accused of Electoral Offenses
Shimla, 13th March. The Himachal Pradesh High Court granted interim anticipatory bail to Hamirpur Independent MLA Ashish Sharma and Gagret MLA Chaitanya Sharma’s father, who were charged by the police for “electoral offenses” and criminal conspiracy. This development came to light on Tuesday following a hearing of the anticipatory bail petition filed by Rakesh Sharma, father of Gagret MLA Chetanya Sharma, and Ashish Sharma before Justice Ranjan Sharma.
Justice Ranjan Sharma directed the applicants to present themselves at the Boileauganj police station on March 15 and cooperate with the ongoing investigation.
The Himachal Pradesh Police had registered a case against the two MLAs and others over alleged “electoral offenses,” bribery, and criminal conspiracy concerning the recent Rajya Sabha polls, where six Congress MLAs reportedly voted for the BJP candidate from the state.
Ashish Sharma and Chaitanya Sharma are among the nine MLAs, including six Congress rebels and three independents, who supported the BJP nominee Harsh Mahajan in the Rajya Sabha polls.
The case against them was filed under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, based on a complaint lodged by Congress MLAs Sanjay Avasthi and Bhuvneshwar Gaur.
The complaint alleged “horse trading and misuse of money to influence the elections” and sought an investigation into charges of money trading, misuse of resources, and criminal misconduct. Reacting to the developments, the nine MLAs denounced what they described as pressure tactics and false accusations aimed at them.
The six Congress MLAs who defied party orders to vote in favor of the BJP candidate were subsequently disqualified for their actions and have since moved the Supreme Court. The three independent MLAs, including Ashish Sharma, Hoshiyar Singh, and K L Thakur, are also embroiled in the legal proceedings.
Comments are closed.