On Friday(26th April)Himachal Pradesh High Court mandates Rakesh Sharma’s participation in corruption probe involving MLA Ashish Sharma, with proceedings scheduled for May 24.
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SHIMLA: The Himachal Pradesh High Court on Friday(26th April), has mandated Rakesh Sharma, father of the former Gagret MLA Chaitanya Sharma, to participate in the ongoing police investigation concerning a significant corruption allegation. This case, which also involves Independent MLA Ashish Sharma, was initially lodged on May 9, with further proceedings set for May 24.
This judicial directive comes after both Rakesh Sharma and Ashish Sharma were implicated under the stringent Prevention of Corruption Act. The charges against them include purported horse-trading activities during the Rajya Sabha elections and an alleged plot aimed at destabilizing the state government. The First Information Report (FIR) regarding this was filed at the Beluganj police station on March 10.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been actively investigating the matter and has recently presented a status report in the court presided over by Justice Ranjan Sharma.
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During this session, Advocate General of Himachal Pradesh, Anoop Rattan Singh, disclosed to the court that the investigation had uncovered significant evidence linking the suspects to financial misdeeds, stating-
“Several lakh rupees were expended on accommodating six rebel Congress MLAs at a hotel in Panchkula.”
In response to these allegations, the defense team, led by Attorney R S Rai, assured the court that Rakesh Sharma would comply with the investigative process. Rai relayed to the court that Sharma is scheduled to appear before the investigation agency on May 9.
He also noted an issue with the delivery timing of the investigation notice, saying-
“The investigative agency issued a notice to Rakesh Sharma to appear for questioning at 11 am on April 24, but the notice was received by Rakesh Sharma at 4 pm on the same day.”
Moreover, the court has arranged a preliminary hearing regarding a petition from Rakesh Sharma and MLA Ashish Sharma that seeks to quash the FIR filed against them. This hearing is slated for May 6.
Chaitanya Sharma, now representing the BJP in the Gagret assembly constituency, and Ashish Sharma were part of a group of nine MLAs—six from the Congress and three Independents—who supported BJP nominee Harsh Mahajan in the latest Rajya Sabha elections. Subsequently, all involved MLAs joined the BJP.
On March 23, the three Independent MLAs, including Hoshiyar Singh, Ashish Sharma, and K L Thakur, publicly resigned under the aegis of BJP leader and former Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, although these resignations have yet to be officially accepted by Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania.
The political scene in Himachal Pradesh remains tense as bypolls for six assembly seats, left vacant following the disqualification of six Congress MLAs including Chaitanya Sharma, are scheduled alongside the upcoming Lok Sabha elections on June 1. The vote count will occur on June 4.
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The disqualification of these six MLAs has notably reduced the strength of the ruling Congress party in the 68-member House from 40 to 34, reflecting the turbulent political dynamics currently at play in the state.
