A sessions court here on Tuesday suspended the one-year sentence awarded to two sitting Congress MLAs and seven others in an 11-year-old case of unlawful assembly and blocking of public road outside the University of Rajasthan during a protest. The convicts had stated that the disposal of their appeal would take time.
Congress MLAs Mukesh Bhakar, elected from Ladnun, and Manish Yadav, representing Shahpura, were among the student leaders who staged a protest and blocked Jawaharlal Nehru Marg outside the university’s gate for about 20 minutes on August 13, 2014. A magistrate’s court had found them guilty and handed down the sentence on June 18.
The convicts also included an unsuccessful Congress candidate in the 2023 Rajasthan Assembly election. All of them convicted under Sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 283 (danger or obstruction in public way or line of navigation), and 341 (wrongful restraint) of Indian Penal Code and sentenced to one year’s imprisonment each, along with the imposition of fine of ₹3,200 each.
Among the convicts, Abhishek Chaudhary contested the 2023 Assembly election as a Congress candidate from Jaipur’s Jhotwara constituency and lost. The other convicts in the case were Rajesh Meena, Ravi Kirad, Wasim Khan, Dron Yadav, Bhanu Pratap Singh and Vidyadhar Meel.
Additional Sessions Judge Prem Ratan Ojha accepted the contention of the appellants that they would be deprived of their legal rights if the sentence was not suspended. The court granted relief to the convicts and posted the case for further hearing on August 26.
The Assembly membership of both Mr. Bhakar and Mr. Yadav remains unaffected following the sentencing, as a legislator can be disqualified only on being convicted for an offence with a two-year sentence or more, as per Section 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
Published – July 16, 2025 01:19 am IST
