Delhi HC dismisses Rajendra Bharti’s plea:Refuses to stay sentence; may be sent to jail in bank FD scam case

The Delhi High Court on Friday dismissed the petition of former Congress MLA Rajendra Bharti in the bank FD scam case, ahead of the Datia assembly by-election. This will uphold his 3-year sentence. Bharti had sought a stay on the sentence. In the bank FD scam case, a Delhi MP-MLA court had sentenced Rajendra Bharti to 3 years on 2 April. Following this, the Madhya Pradesh Assembly Secretariat had terminated his membership. He had filed a petition in the Delhi High Court seeking a stay on this order and conviction. During the hearing, senior advocate P. Chidambaram argued on behalf of Bharti that the case was not criminal but civil in nature. He stated that the bank itself had initially approached the Supreme Court, considering this dispute as a civil matter, where a settlement was also reached between both parties. The settlement amount has not been received yet. The concerned FD is safe in the bank. Meanwhile, no announcement of candidates in Datia
Meanwhile, the nomination process for the Datia by-election is ongoing, but the BJP and Congress have not yet announced their official candidates. It is believed that both parties may decide their final strategy after the High Court’s decision, which is expected today.