The Himachal Pradesh High Court (Today 1st, April) decided to prolong the anticipatory bail granted to Ashish Sharma and Rakesh Sharma until April 26.
Shimla: The Himachal Pradesh High Court Today (1st April ), extended the temporary anticipatory bail for Ashish Sharma, an independent MLA from Hamirpur, and Rakesh Sharma, father of Gagret MLA Chaitanya Sharma, until April 26. They were accused by the police of electoral offences and criminal conspiracy.
Ashish, who is now the BJP candidate from Gagret Vidhan Sabha, along with Chaitanya, were part of nine MLAs, including six Congress rebels and three independents, who supported BJP nominee Harsh Mahajan in the recent Rajya Sabha polls before joining the BJP.
The High Court instructed them to cooperate with the investigations and appear before the investigation officer as required. However, it was noted that Rakesh Sharma, a retired bureaucrat, failed to comply with the court orders and allegedly threatened the investigation officer.
Additionally, both accused have filed a new application in the High Court seeking the dismissal of the FIR against them. The court has requested the state government to respond, and the case is scheduled for April 26.
Last month, the Shimla Police filed a case against these two MLAs and others for “electoral offences”, bribery, and criminal conspiracy linked to the recent Rajya Sabha polls. Six Congress MLAs voted for the BJP candidate from the state.
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The case, based on a complaint by Congress MLAs Sanjay Avasthi and Bhuvneshwar Gaur, cites sections 171(c) and (e) (undue influence on elections and bribery), 120(b) (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC, and sections 7 and 8 (public servant taking undue advantage) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
The complaint accuses them of “horse trading” and misusing money to influence elections, as well as criminal conspiracy. They requested an investigation into allegations of money trading, misuse of helicopters and security forces, and criminal misconduct.