Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh)

A Congress MLA from Madhya Pradesh's Datia, Rajendra Bharti, has been disqualified from the state legislative assembly after his conviction in a fraud case.

According to an official notification issued by the state assembly secretariat dated April 2, Bharti, who was elected from the Datia constituency, has been disqualified from the membership of the House with effect from April 2, 2026.

The action followed a judgment by the Delhi court, convicting Bharti and sentencing him to three years of imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 1 lakh in relation to a Gramin Bank fraud case.

With Bharti's disqualification, a seat in the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly has fallen vacant, the notification issued by the assembly's principal secretary, Arvind Sharma, added.

The Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi on Thursday awarded a three-year sentence to Congress legislator Rajender Bharti and another accused, Raghubir Sharan Prajapati, in relation to a Gramin Bank fraud case.

Bharti is an MLA from the Datia assembly constituency in Madhya Pradesh who defeated former MP Home Minister and BJP leader Narottam Mishra from the seat in the 2023 Assembly elections. The Court also imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh against Bharti and Rs 2.5 lakh against Prajapati.

Special Judge (MP-MLA) Dig Vinay Singh sentenced both convicts, Rajendra Bharti and Raghuvir Sharan Prajapati, in a case of cheating, forgery, using forged documents, and criminal conspiracy.

The court has sentenced Bharti for the offence of criminal Conspiracy under section 120B IPC read with 420, 467, 478 and 471, while Raghuvir Sharan Prajapati sentenced to 3 years imprisonment for offence of forgery and a fine of Rs One lakh imposed under section 476 read with 120 B IPC. He is also sentenced to 2 years imprisonment for the offence of cheating and a fine of Rs 50,000 imposed under section 468 IPC read with 120 B IPC.

Additionally, Prajapati was sentenced to 3 years jail term and a fine of Rs One lakh imposed for offence of Conspiracy under section 120 B read with Section 420, 467, 468, 471 IPC. Apart from this, the third accused Savitri Shyam (Bharti's mother) passed away during the trial.

A criminal complaint under Section 200 of the CrPC was filed on July 29, 2015, against Savitri Shyam and her son, Rajendra Bharti, by Zila Sahkari Krishi Aur Grahmin Vikas Bank. Raghubir Sharan Prajapati was summoned later on a subsequent application.'

READ MORE: Pioneer Nazreen Ahmed recalls days when cricket was not a women's game

According to the complaint, on August 24, 1998, Savitri deposited Rs. 10 lakh in a fixed deposit (FD) for a three-year term at an interest rate of 13.5% per annum in the name of a trust, Shri Shyam Sunder Shyam Jan Sahyog Evam Samajik Vikas Sansthan, Mundian Ka Kuan, Datia, MP.

It was alleged that instead of claiming the interest upon maturity, she began withdrawing annual interest payments of Rs. 1.35 lakh starting in 1999 and continued to do so for 13 years, until 2011, in violation of the FD terms.