Rajasthan High Court Conducts Late-Night Hearings, Grants Arrest Relief to Councillors

The Rajasthan High Court conducted special late-night hearings on Sunday after several councillors and candidates approached the court seeking protection from arrest ahead of municipal elections for key civic posts. The urgent proceedings continued into the early hours of Monday, with the court granting interim protection from arrest in several cases.

One of the hearings involved nine councillors from Hanumangarh. Justice Nupur Bhati heard their plea from around 10 pm and continued the proceedings past midnight before granting them interim relief. In a separate case, the court heard a plea filed by Maqsood Ahmed, a Congress councillor from Bikaner's Ward 18. Justice Sunil Beniwal took up the matter after special permission was granted by the Chief Justice and stayed Ahmed's arrest.

Ahmed was directed to appear before the investigating agency for questioning on September 30, while his case will be heard again on October 8. The petitions were filed amid the ongoing process for electing mayors, chairpersons and other office-bearers in Rajasthan's urban local bodies. Some of the petitioners had received police notices or expressed concern that they could be arrested shortly before the civic polls.

In Ahmed's case, police had issued notices asking him and another councillor, Navratna Daga, to appear for questioning on September 21, the day of the scheduled mayoral election in Bikaner. The High Court also provided interim protection in matters involving Tejpal Mirdha, a councillor and former chairman of Kuchera Municipality in Nagaur, and Sushil Mirdha, also known as Bittu Mirdha, who was contesting the chairperson's election in Srivijaynagar Municipality.

The special benches were constituted on the directions of Rajasthan High Court Chief Justice Sanjay K Agrawal to deal with the urgent petitions during the holiday. The court's interim orders protect the concerned individuals from immediate arrest but do not amount to a final ruling on the criminal allegations or the cases registered against them. Those proceedings will continue in accordance with law. The developments come at a crucial stage of Rajasthan's urban local body election process, with the selection of civic office-bearers taking place following elections across municipal bodies in the state.