Jaipur: In a significant development, the Rajasthan High Court Thursday upheld the conviction of two-term BJP MLA Kanwarlal Meena from Anta constituency in Baran district in a criminal case of issuing threats and pointing a gun at a senior govt official in 2005.
The sentence was awarded to Meena in Dec 2020 by the additional district sessions court at Aklera in Jhalawar district for threatening to kill Ramniwas Mehta, then a sub-sivisional officer (SDO) of Aklera and current secretary of the Rajathan Public Service Commission (RPSC).
The high court dismissed Meena’s revision petition, directing him to surrender immediately. The single-judge bench of Justice Uma Shanker Vyas that upheld the conviction observed, “Since the accused is not present before the court today (Thursday), he is ordered to surrender before the trial court immediately.”
“The trial court is also ordered that if the accused does not surrender immediately, then the accused should be summoned through a non-bailable warrant and made to undergo the sentence, and this court should be informed about the action taken within 30 days from today (May 1),” the order stated.
On Dec 14, 2020, the additional district sessions court had convicted Meena under several sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 392 (robbery), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant), 353 (assault on a public servant), and 506 (criminal intimidation), as well as under the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984.
Meena now faces disqualification from the state assembly under Section 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which states that “a person convicted of any offence and sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years shall be disqualified from the date of such conviction and shall continue to be disqualified for a further period of six years since his release”.
A former Speaker of Rajasthan assembly said, “Once a legislator is convicted, the Speaker’s office typically obtains the court’s judgment and initiates disqualification proceedings as per the relevant provisions of the law.” He added that the Act does not prescribe any fixed timeline for the Speaker to act. “It is up to the Speaker’s discretion. Even if the convicted individual approaches the Supreme Court and secures a stay, it may or may not impact the disqualification process,” he added.
TOI tried to contact Meena for a statement Friday but failed to do so despite repeated calls.
The incident occurred on Feb 3, 2005, at Dangipura-Rajgarh Mod, Jhalawar, where villagers had blocked a road demanding a repoll for a deputy sarpanch position at Khatakhedi. According to court documents, Meena arrived at the scene with seven associates and threatened Mehta with a revolver, demanding a repoll announcement within two minutes.
During the confrontation, Meena, who had 15 previous criminal cases against him, allegedly destroyed official video documentation and temporarily seized a digital camera from IAS probationer Pritam B Yashwant. Local law enforcement personnel, including two police station in-charges and a deputy SP present at the scene, failed to muster courage to oppose Meena.
