Illegal appointments in MP assembly: HC restrains cops from arresting petitioners

The MP High Court has restrained the police from arresting the petitioner employees accused in the alleged illegal appointments in the state assembly if they cooperate in the inquiry and their arrest is not necessary for purpose of investigation.

The MP High Court has restrained the police from arresting the petitioner employees accused in the alleged illegal appointments in the Madhya Pradesh assembly if they cooperate in the inquiry and their arrest is not necessary for purpose of investigation.

The alleged illegal appointments were done during the tenure of Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh and assembly speaker Sriniwas Tiwari from 1993 to 2003.

Counsel Siddartha Radhelal Gupta said petitioners RK Tiwari, BP Tiwari, Rajesh Dwivedi and YN Sharma were appointed during the period when alleged irregularities in appointments surfaced.

A division bench of Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice MC Garg issued an interim order on a bunch of petitions ordering “in case petitioners cooperate with the inquiry and for the purpose of investigation and inquiry arrest of petitioners is not necessary, petitioners may not be arrested”, the counsel said.

The court said, “The petitioners are directed to participate and cooperate in the inquiry conduced in pursuance to the notices issued.”

The court issued notices to the assembly secretary and others during the hearing. The petitioners' counsel argued that the petitioners were roped in in the FIR for political reasons due to turf tussle between the former chief minister Digvijaya Singh and the Bharatiya Janata Party.