TNR Desk
The Himachal Pradesh High Court has instructed Rakesh Sharma, the father of disqualified Congress MLA from Gagret Chaitanya Sharma, and Independent MLA from Hamirpur Ashish Sharma to cooperate with the police investigation into allegations of horse-trading during the recent Rajya Sabha election in the state.
Extending their interim anticipatory bail until April 1, 2024, the high court on Saturday (March 16) said failure to cooperate may result in the cancellation of their anticipatory bail. While granting anticipatory bail to both individuals, the high court had mandated that they appear before the police in Shimla on March 15, 2024.
During the hearing on Saturday, the counsel for the state government informed the high court that neither of the petitioners complied with the order to join the investigation on March 15. The petitioners’ counsel stated that due to health issues, they were unable to appear before the investigating officer and requested more time.
Justice Ranjan Sharma, while extending the anticipatory bail period, directed the duo to cooperate with the investigations and scheduled the next hearing for April 1. The court also instructed the prosecution agency to submit a fresh status report by the next hearing date.
On March 10, the police registered a case against Ashish Sharma and Rakesh Sharma for electoral offences related to the recent Rajya Sabha elections. The case includes allegations of criminal conspiracy, corrupt practices and undue influence on the election, filed by two Congress MLAs at Boileauganj police station in Shimla.
