Himachal Pradesh High Court grants interim anticipatory bail to Independent MLA and father of Congress rebel MLA

PTI

Shimla, March 12

The Himachal Pradesh High Court on Tuesday granted interim anticipatory bail to Hamirpur Independent MLA Ashish Sharma and Gagret MLA Chaitanya Sharma's father who were booked by the police for "electoral offences" and criminal conspiracy.

After hearing the anticipatory bail petition filed by Rakesh Sharma, father of Gagret MLA Chetanya Sharma, and Ashish Sharma, Justice Ranjan Sharma directed the applicants to register their presence in Boileauganj police station on March 15 and cooperate in the investigation.

Himachal Pradesh Police had on Sunday registered a case against these two and other MLAs over "electoral offences" bribery and criminal conspiracy related to the recent Rajya Sabha polls in which six Congress MLAs had voted for the BJP candidate from the state.

Ashish and Chetanya are among the nine MLAs -- six Congress rebels and three independents -- who voted in favour of BJP nominee Harsh Mahajan in the recently held Rajya Sabha polls.

The case against them was registered under Sections 171 c and e (undue influence on elections and bribery) and 120 b (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC and Sections 7 and 8 (public servant taking undue advantage) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, on the basis of a complaint lodged by Congress MLAs Sanjay Avasthi and Bhuvneshwar Gaur. 

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