An Agra court, on August 7, stayed the conviction of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Ram Shankar Katheria in a 2011 assault case.
In his appeal challenging the conviction by the MP/MLA Court, Mr. Katheria said there were no “eyewitnesses” in the case except the victim and many of the witnesses had turned hostile. The court also granted him regular bail.
The court order ensures that Mr. Katheria will not be disqualified from Parliament. Opposition parties have been demanding his disqualification as a Lok Sabha member. They drew parallels between his case and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s defamation case as under the Representation of People Act, 1951, an elected public representative sentenced for two years or more faces immediate disqualification.
Mr. Katheria on Saturday was sentenced to two-year imprisonment by an Agra MP/MLA Court in connection with the 2011 assault case related to the power supply company employees. The Lok Sabha member from Etawah was accused of attacking the office of Torrent Power Company and beating up employees working at the office.
The Etawah MP served as the Union Minister of State, in Human Resource Development (HRD) department from November 2014 to July 2016. He faces 12 criminal cases including charges related to assault or use of criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty, rioting etc. He also served as the chairperson of National Commission for Scheduled Castes, apart from being a three term Lok Sabha member. In 2009 and 2014, he got elected from the Agra (Scheduled Castes) reserved constituency.
