The Delhi High Court on Friday dismissed a petition filed by former Congress MLA Rajendra Bharti in the bank fixed deposit (FD) scam case, refusing to stay his three-year sentence ahead of the Datia Assembly by-election. Although Bharti is currently out on bail granted by the trial court, the High Court’s order means his conviction and sentence remain in force.
Bharti had sought a stay on both his conviction and the by-election process, arguing that unless his conviction was suspended, he would be disqualified from contesting the election.
Trial court sentenced him to three years
On 2 April, Delhi’s MP-MLA Court sentenced Bharti to three years’ imprisonment in the alleged bank FD scam. Following the conviction, the Madhya Pradesh Assembly Secretariat terminated his membership. Bharti challenged both the conviction and the disqualification before the Delhi High Court.
During the hearing, senior advocate P. Chidambaram, appearing for Bharti, argued that the dispute was civil rather than criminal in nature. He said the bank had earlier treated the matter as a civil dispute and approached the Supreme Court, where both parties settled. According to the defence, the settlement amount has not yet been paid and the disputed FD remains secured with the bank.
Why is Datia seat going to a by-election?
The Datia Assembly seat fell vacant after Bharti’s conviction and sentence of more than two years led to his automatic disqualification as an MLA. The Madhya Pradesh Assembly Secretariat subsequently declared the seat vacant.
The action was taken under Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, Article 191(1)(e) of the Constitution, and the Supreme Court’s 2013 judgment in the Lily Thomas vs Union of India case.
Alleged bank FD scam
The case dates back to 1998 and involves an alleged fraud linked to a fixed deposit at the Datia Cooperative Rural Development Bank. According to the prosecution, bank records were manipulated to extend the FD’s tenure from three years to 15 years, allowing interest to be withdrawn between 1999 and 2011.
At the time, Bharti was the chairman of the bank and a trustee of the institution. The matter was later investigated, and a chargesheet was filed.
Why was his Assembly seat vacated immediately?
Under Section 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, any legislator sentenced to two years or more in prison is automatically disqualified. Following the Supreme Court’s Lily Thomas judgment in 2013, such disqualification takes immediate effect. Filing an appeal alone does not restore membership; only a higher court staying the conviction or disqualification can do so.
