Jaipur, March 19 (IANS) The Rajasthan High Court on Wednesday rejected the bail plea of Independent candidate Naresh Meena, who is in judicial custody for slapping Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Amit Chaudhary during the Deoli-Uniyara Assembly by-election.
During the hearing, the Rajasthan government opposed Meena’s bail, arguing that such actions by a public representative set a negative precedent for the society.
In contrast, Meena’s lawyer downplayed the case as a minor offence and pleaded for bail.
However, after hearing both sides, Judge Anil Kumar Upvan denied the request.
The case was initially scheduled for hearing on March 12, but due to the judge’s busy schedule it was postponed.
A fresh date was set for March 19, but the court ultimately ruled against granting bail.
Advocate Lakhan Singh Meena said that the repeated postponements were due to the judge’s tight schedule.
The Deoli-Uniyara by-election was held on November 13, 2024.
Residents of Samravata village boycotted the election, demanding that their village be included in the Uniara sub-division office.
Supporting their protest, Naresh Meena staged a protest with the villagers.
However, tensions escalated when Meena accused SDM Amit Chaudhary of forcibly facilitating votes for three people.
During a heated exchange, Meena allegedly slapped the SDM.
The following day, on November 14, 2024, police arrested Naresh Meena from the protest site.
With his bail now rejected, Meena will remain in judicial custody as the case proceeds further.
Earlier on February 18, the Rajasthan High Court had granted bail to Naresh Meena for last year’s Assembly bypoll to the Deoli-Uniara constituency, in a case related to protesting and inciting a crowd outside the residence of former Minister Pramod Jain Bhaya.
Justice Sudesh Bansal’s bench approved his bail plea. However, despite securing bail in the mob incitement case, Naresh Meena would not be released from jail as the Rajasthan High Court had earlier rejected his bail plea on February 14 in connection with the violence in Samravata village.
He was arrested in the case of slapping an SDM, for which a separate bail hearing will be held on Tuesday.
During the hearing, the prosecution presented a previous High Court order rejecting Naresh Meena’s bail in the Samravata case, arguing that he had a criminal tendency and should not be granted bail.
However, the court dismissed this argument, stating that every case has different circumstances and facts.
The case dates back to September 2023, when Naresh Meena was accused of leading a protest outside Bhaya’s house and inciting the crowd. Despite this, the police did not arrest him for nearly one and a half years. However, after he filed an anticipatory bail plea, the police arrested him from jail on February 3.
Naresh Meena’s lawyer, Mahesh Sharma, argued that the case was politically motivated, with allegations based solely on claims of inciting public unrest.
–IANS
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