In an interim relief to Delhi Lieutenant Governor (L-G) Vinai Kumar Saxena, the Gujarat High Court on Tuesday stayed criminal trial proceedings against him in his plea on abeyance of trial in a 2002 assault case.
The court stayed the proceedings against Saxena until he holds the post of Delhi LG.
The move came after the New Delhi LG moved the court seeking the setting aside of an Ahmedabad magistrate court order that had refused to keep a criminal trial against him in abeyance.
Saxena, who took over as Delhi L-G in May 2022, is booked for rioting, unlawful assembly and assault on social activist Medha Patkar in 2002, along with three other co-accused.
Earlier on May 9, the court of metropolitan magistrate PC Goswami in Ahmedabad refused to grant a stay on trial against Saxena as requested by him in the case that dates back more than 20 years ago when he and three other accused — two Gujarat Bharatiya Janata Party MLA and a Congress leader — allegedly assaulted Patkar during a peace meeting organised at Gandhi Ashram.
Cross-examination of three accused — Ellisbridge MLA Amit Shah, Vejalpur MLA Amit Thaker (both of BJP) and Congress leader Rohit Patel — was completed, and when Saxena’s turn came, his lawyer moved an application seeking abeyance of trial against him, Patkar’s lawyer G M Parmar said.