BJP MLA Jetha Bharwad
After the public prosecutor told the Gujarat High Court that there was no basis for the property grabbing allegation against BJP MLA Jetha Bharwad, Justice J B Pardiwala Friday said that he knew from the beginning that there would be “political pressure” in the case, and ordered the Ahmedabad Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) to submit a report in three weeks on the complaint lodged by a woman.
The High Court judge also questioned the transfer of the investigation into the case to the DCB when he had already directed Gandhinagar police to probe the case under the supervision of the district Superintendent of Police last month. Pushpa Sargara, a resident of Gandhinagar, had filed a petition in the High Court alleging that Bharwad, the BJP MLA from Shehra, and his men had threatened her with the intention to grab a plot of land that belongs to a jeweller who lives abroad. She had said that her husband has the power of attorney to look after the property.
Pushpa had filed the petition in the High Court after the police, she said, refused to file a complaint against the MLA. After hearing the prosecutor’s submission, Justice Pardiwala said, “I knew it from day one that there will be political pressure (in the matter). I had directed the Gandhinagar Superintendent of Police to probe the case, but I am told that an officer from the city Crime Branch is probing it. ”
“I am still not able to understand why the case was transferred. Let the inquiry continue, and by the next date (of hearing) I would like an affidavit from the investigating officer detailing the steps taken… If there is any harassment to the applicant at the hands of the MLA , bring it out to my notice,” the judge ordered.
Earlier, the additional public prosecutor told the court that as per the preliminary inquiry there was no basis of allegation against the MLA, and his mobile location showed that he was not at the scene of the alleged offence at that time. The public prosecutor also told the court that the inquiry was handed over to the DCB since the offence, as alleged, took place in Ahmedabad city jurisdiction and not in Gandhinagar.
To this, the petitioner’s lawyer, J T Trivedi, told the court that he “knew the outcome” of the case “as there won’t be a fair probe due to political pressure”, adding that “the enthusiasm of the prosecutor to give clean chit to the accused shows it”. Trivedi also questioned the transfer of the probe to the Crime Branch without informing the court .
In the 2012 Assembly polls , Bharwad was charged with attempt to murder for his alleged involvement in a firing incident.