Jaipur, July 7 (IANS) The Rajasthan High Court on Monday granted interim relief to Naresh Meena in the high-profile case involving the alleged assault on SDM Amit Chaudhary during the Deoli-Uniyara Assembly by-election.
The court has put an interim stay on the proceedings underway in the Tonk SC-ST Court and has sought a response from the state government.
Justice Umashankar Vyas passed the order while hearing a monitoring petition filed by Naresh Meena. During the hearing, Meena’s counsels, advocates Fateh Ram Meena and Rajneesh Gupta argued that the incident was a case of simple assault, but it was wrongfully escalated into a charge of attempted murder.
They pointed out that neither the CCTV footage installed by the Election Commission at the polling booth nor the mobile recording by the Tehsildar present at the scene showed any evidence of the SDM being strangled, as claimed. They further submitted that the medical report of SDM Amit Chaudhary did not confirm any fatal injuries to the neck or body, suggesting the absence of life-threatening harm.
The defence argued that the incident was sudden and spontaneous, yet the police invoked Section 109(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and framed it as an attempted murder case.
The charge sheet and the court’s decision to frame charges under this section, they said, were excessive and unjustified. Hence, they sought the cancellation of the lower court’s charge-framing order.
Taking note of the arguments, the High Court stayed the lower court’s proceedings and issued notice to the state government to file its response.
The incident dates back to November 13, when voting was held for the Deoli-Uniara bypoll. During polling, residents of Samravata village boycotted the vote, demanding the inclusion of their village under the Uniara subdivision office. Naresh Meena, contesting as an independent candidate, joined the villagers in protest, supporting their demand.
The situation escalated when Naresh Meena allegedly slapped SDM Amit Chaudhary, accusing him of coercing three individuals to vote despite the boycott.
He was arrested from the protest site the following day, on November 14, and sent to judicial custody on November 15. Over 60 individuals were arrested in connection with the incident; all except Naresh Meena have since been granted bail.
–IANS
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