SC rejects BJP MLA Kanwarlal Meena's plea for stay on conviction, orders to surrender in 2 weeks

Jaipur: Supreme Court of India Wednesday dismissed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by BJP MLA Kanwarlal Meena, who sought to stay his conviction in a 20-year-old criminal case. The court has directed the legislator from Baran district's Anta constituency to surrender before the trial court within two weeks.

The case stems from a 2005 incident where Meena allegedly threatened then-sub-divisional officer Ramniwas Mehta by pointing a gun at him in Aklera, Jhalawar district. Mehta is currently serving as the secretary of the Rajasthan Public Service Commission.

In Dec 2020, the additional district sessions court at Aklera convicted Meena and sentenced him to three years' imprisonment. The Rajasthan High Court upheld this conviction on May 1, ordering his immediate surrender. Meena filed an SLP on May 2 against the high court order, following which the apex court granted him interim relief Monday by exempting him to surrender before the trial court.

During Wednesday's hearing, however, the Supreme Court bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and Sanjay Karol took a stern view of Meena's criminal history. The bench noted that the MLA absconded for three years after the FIR was lodged and the trial was delayed until 2011.

The court's decision has significant political implications as it puts Meena's Assembly membership at risk. Following the High Court's ruling, the Congress had escalated its demand for Meena's disqualification, emphasising that under the law, a legislator's membership is automatically terminated upon receiving a sentence of two years or more. A delegation from the Congress, led by state president Govind Singh Dotasra and Leader of the Opposition Tikaram Jully, submitted a memorandum to the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly Secretariat Monday calling for Meena's immediate disqualification.