How a 2012 case has returned to sting BJP, Congress leaders in Uttarakhand
A 14-year-old case about a communal dispute in Uttarakhand’s Udham Singh Nagar has returned to the political spotlight after a Kashipur court issued non-bailable warrants against 24 accused, including two sitting MLAs of the state.
The case involves Congress MLA from Jaspur Adesh Chauhan and the BJP’s Gadarpur MLA Arvind Pandey, along with former MLAs Rajkumar Thukral and Harbhajan Singh Cheema and former Nainital MP Balraj Pasi.
The case dates back to July 15, 2012 when tensions erupted in Jaspur after a Hindu woman allegedly eloped with a Muslim man. A missing person report was filed, following which local organisations and political leaders organised a protest to demand that the woman be traced. A demonstration took place in Jaspur and the Kashipur-Jaspur national highway was blocked for hours.
This was a period of Congress rule in Uttarakhand. The police registered an FIR against 24 people, including several BJP leaders active locally. The charges included blocking of highway, obstructing government work and allegedly promoting enmity and inciting religious sentiments. The FIR also invoked provisions relating to rioting and acts intended to outrage religious feelings.
Among those named in the FIR were Arvind Pandey, even then the BJP MLA from Gadarpur; Chauhan, who was in the BJP at the time; Thukral, then MLA from Rudrapur; Cheema, who represented Kashipur assembly constituency; and Pasi.
The case moved slowly through the courts. The Kashipur court took cognisance of the chargesheet in October 2014 and the trial began. In September 2019, the BJP government in Uttarakhand decided to withdraw the case and an application was filed before the court. The trial court, however, rejected it. The accused then approached the district and sessions court but did not get relief.
The matter eventually reached the state’s high court. Last month, on August 14, a single bench of Justice Ravindra Maithani dismissed the challenge to the lower court's order and directed that the case be taken to its conclusion expeditiously. Following the order, the Kashipur court issued non-bailable warrants against all 24 accused and directed the police to arrest them and produce them before the court.
The case is notable not only because of its age but because of how the political positions of some of the accused have changed over the years. The case had resurfaced during the 2017 Uttarakhand assembly election when Chauhan was given the Congress ticket from Jaspur.
The latest court order brings a 14-year-old episode back into the political landscape in the run-up to state elections next year. What began with a protest over an alleged elopement, escalated into a highway blockade and a case of communal incitement, and then remained stuck in the legal system for years has now reached a stage where the accused, including two sitting legislators, face arrest.
