Setback for Gujarat BJP MLA after HC refuses criminal case withdrawal

In a setback for sitting BJP MLA from Jamnagar (north) Dharmendrasinh Jadeja alias Hakubha, the Gujarat High Court on Wednesday refused to withdraw a criminal case against him for rioting among other charges during a violent agitation against the Essar Group in 2007. The order likely weakens Jadeja's chances of getting an Assembly ticket, the announcement for which is expected to be made by the BJP soon.

Justice Niral Mehta while rejecting the petition, noted, "While giving permission to withdraw the prosecution, in my view, those who suffered, have also stake in the proceedings and thereby that aspect also requires to be considered by the Court while granting leave for withdrawal of prosecution. In the instant case, victims are M/s Essar Company as well as employees of the State police. Those victims cannot be ignored at the discretion of learned Public Prosecutor who appears to be acting only on the direction of the higher authorities."

The order came on a petition moved by Kamlesh Dave, a Gujarat government-appointed special public prosecutor at the trial court in Jamnagar. He had filed the petition seeking permission for withdrawing the prosecution in accordance with provisions of Section 321 of the CrPC. This section allows the government to withdraw a case with consent of the court.

Also Read | Gujarat Congress loses another senior leader to BJP, 19th to resign in five years

Dave moved the high court after lower courts refused to withdraw the case in 2020. In the high court, public prosecutor, Mitesh Amin, argued, "public agitation was in the public interest and for the purpose of protection of interest of the local agriculturists and thereby withdrawal of such prosecution is in the larger public interest."

Rejecting the application, Justice Mehta has stated that it was "shocking" that despite lower courts refusing withdrawals and those orders attaining finality, the special public prosecutor, "ventured to file an application, which suggests that the said learned learned Special Public Prosecutor is nothing but a sheer 'puppet' in the hands of the State Government".

"Merely because the accused is now a sitting MLA, there cannot be any differential treatment extended to him. The accused cannot be allowed, on the basis of his subsequently acquired status of MLA, to claim distinguishable privilege than that of a normal citizen," the order notes.

Jadeja was one the MLAs who had been expelled from the Congress for cross-voting for the BJP during the 2017 Rajya Sabha polls when senior Congress leader late Ahmed Patel had narrowly managed to defeat his rival BJP candidate. Jadeja was also a minister in the Vijay Rupani government.