Disqualified Congress MLA Rajendra Bharti has challenged his 3-year jail sentence in the Delhi High Court in a bank fraud case. The court has issued notice and will hear the matter on April 15 as Bharti contests his conviction.
Disqualified Madhya Pradesh Congress MLA Rajendra Bharti has approached the Delhi High Court challenging his conviction and three-year jail sentence in a cheating and forgery case linked to manipulation of bank records for illegal financial gain.
The matter was heard by Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, who issued notice to the prosecution and scheduled the next hearing for April 15. Bharti’s appeal challenges the trial court’s verdict that had found him guilty of multiple serious offences involving fraud and criminal conspiracy.
Earlier, on April 2, the trial court sentenced Bharti, who previously served as chairperson of the Zila Sahkari Krishi Aur Gramin Vikas Bank, to three years in prison. While awarding the sentence, the court emphasized that repayment of the loss caused would better serve justice than imprisonment alone. emphasised
Accordingly, it also imposed a fine of ₹1 lakh, directing that the amount be paid to the Madhya Pradesh Sahkari Krishi Avem Gramin Vikas Bank Seemit, Bhopal, which was the complainant in the case and has since gone into liquidation.
The conviction was recorded on April 1 under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, including Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery for cheating), and 471 (using forged documents as genuine).
Following the conviction, the trial court granted Bharti interim relief by suspending his sentence and granting him bail for 60 days to allow him to file an appeal before the High Court.
The case originally arose in Datiya, Madhya Pradesh, but was later transferred to Delhi by the Supreme Court of India in October last year after concerns were raised about attempts to intimidate defence witnesses.
In its detailed judgment, the trial court observed,
“Accused Bharti and accused Raghuvir Sharan Prajapati, along with Savitri Devi (deceased) and possibly other unknown persons, entered into a criminal conspiracy and the object of this conspiracy was to cheat the complainant bank (Zila Sahkari Krishi Aur Grahmin Vikas Bank) by continuing to draw interest at a much higher rate beyond 2011, which was the initial fixed deposit (FD) duration of three years.”
The proceedings against Bharti’s mother, Savitri Devi, were closed after her death in 2019.
The court further held that the conspiracy involved deliberate tampering of official bank documents, which are treated as valuable securities under law. It noted that such acts of forgery were carried out with the clear intention of deceiving the bank and unlawfully extracting financial benefits.
Rejecting Bharti’s defence of political vendetta, the court categorically stated,
“The argument by Bharti that he is politically targeted or that the prosecution is politically motivated is all speculation. He has failed to prove any such political motives or false implications.”
As per the prosecution’s case, the fraud traces back to August 24, 1998, when Bharti’s late mother deposited ₹10 lakh in the Datiya-based cooperative bank as a fixed deposit for three years, earning an interest rate of 13.5% annually. The deposit was made in the name of a family-run trust, of which Bharti was a trustee.
The prosecution alleged that after the original three-year period ended, the accused conspired to illegally extend the duration of the fixed deposit by altering bank records. By using correction fluid and overwriting key entries, the tenure was extended by 10 to 15 years. This allowed the trust to continue receiving high-interest payments until 2011, even though prevailing market rates had significantly declined.
According to the allegations, this manipulation enabled the trust to withdraw substantial amounts as interest over the years, causing financial loss to the bank.
The Delhi High Court will now examine Bharti’s appeal against the conviction and sentence, with further proceedings scheduled in the coming days.
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