Jodhpur: In an unusual Sunday hearing on a court holiday, Rajasthan High Court restrained the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) from arresting Congress candidate Tejpal Mirdha till the next hearing in a corruption case rooted in a 2018 complaint. Mirdha had sought urgent protection, alleging a politically timed move to keep him out of the Kuchera Municipal Board chairperson’s election against the ruling party’s candidate.Justice Kuldeep Mathur passed the interim order on a writ petition filed by Mirdha, an elected Ward 21 member of Municipal Board, Kuchera, Nagaur. Mirdha is contesting the election for chairperson, scheduled for Sept 21. The matter has been listed for Oct 5.The matter was heard on Sunday, a court holiday, after Chief Justice directed that it be taken up urgently on the petitioner’s request. The order was reserved at 12.30 pm and pronounced at 2 pm.Mirdha approached the court apprehending arrest after ACB registered an FIR against him. He sought two days’ protection from arrest, contending that he was elected as a ward member on Sept 14 and filed his nomination for the chairperson’s election on Sept 16.The case relates to allegations of financial, technical and administrative irregularities allegedly committed by Mirdha while he was chairperson of Municipal Board between 2015 and 2018.The original complaint was lodged on May 4, 2018, by then Ward 3 member Shaitanram Tak. The FIR on this complaint was registered at 11.58 pm on Sept 18, eight years after the alleged wrongdoing.Mirdha argued that the FIR was not uploaded on the official website till 3.30 pm the next day. He apprehended that his arrest would prevent him from participating in the chairperson’s election.The court observed that there was “no satisfactory explanation” before it on why inquiries into the 2018 complaint remained pending for nearly eight years and why sanction under Section 17-A of the Prevention of Corruption Act was granted only on Sept 18, 2026 — immediately after Mirdha’s election as a ward member and submission of his nomination for chairperson.The court, however, refrained from expressing any final opinion on whether the FIR amounted to unlawful interference with the election process or was a bona fide exercise of statutory powers. It said the issue required a detailed response from the respondents.The court also granted Mirdha liberty to amend his writ petition and allowed the respondents time to file a detailed reply.It observed that although Mirdha had not specifically sought quashing of the FIR, that alone did not prevent it from considering his plea for protection from arrest. It noted that his arrest could prevent him from taking part in the chairperson’s election scheduled for Sept 21.Apart from this case, a separate case has also been registered against Mirdha for alleged abduction of independent councillor Limbaram.Poll-eve FIRs send candidates to HC SundayJaipur: Several candidates approached the Rajasthan High Court Sunday for urgent relief against FIRs and possible arrests ahead of Monday’s municipal chairperson and chairperson polls. Sanjay Mundra, candidate for chairperson of Sriganganagar Municipal Council, moved court after an FIR was registered against him on charges of issuing threats through an alleged associate of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. Justice Sunil Beniwal’s single bench held an urgent hearing Sunday evening and, around 5pm, stayed Mundra’s arrest till Oct 5 while allowing him to participate in Monday’s election. More than half a dozen candidates sought similar relief, turning poll-eve FIRs and apprehended arrests into a major legal flashpoint in the civic leadership contests.
