Delhi High Court Dismisses Rajendra Bharti's Petition, By-Election Proceeds as Scheduled

Madhya Pradesh Congress leader Rajendra Bharti received a major setback from the Delhi High Court on Friday (July 10). The Delhi High Court dismissed his petition seeking a stay on his conviction in the Gramin Vikas Bank fraud case. The Election Commission has announced a by-election to the Datia assembly seat in Madhya Pradesh. Voting is to be held on July 30 and the results will be out on August 3. Rajendra Bharti had appealed for a stay on the conviction and also on the process of the Datia assembly by-election. He was sentenced to 3 years in the Rural Development Bank scam case. The special CBI court had sentenced him. He has already been granted bail by the trial court after the conviction. The petition said that the right to contest elections would be affected if the conviction was not stayed.