High Court orders BJP’s Anta MLA to surrender in 2005 revolver threat case

Meena, a two-term BJP legislator, had initially been acquitted by a trial court but was later convicted in December 2020. He had then filed a criminal revision petition in the HC against his appellate court conviction which found him found guilty under IPC Sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter a public servant), 506 (criminal intimidation), and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act. He was sentenced to three years’ rigorous imprisonment for the last two charges and two years for IPC 353, to be served concurrently.

Justice Uma Shankar Vyas, while dismissing Meena’s revision petition, noted that the conviction was “in accordance with the facts and law” and based on “strong evidence.” The court directed him to surrender before the trial court or face a non-bailable warrant.

The court said that crimes, such as the one by Meena, “seriously affect the law-and-order situation and create a feeling of insecurity among the common people and public servants and their morale falls.”

Leader of Opposition Tika Ram Jully said the HC’s decision is “welcome,” while hoping that Meena’s “membership will immediately be revoked due to the sentence exceeding two years.”

The case pertains to February 2005, when Ramniwas Mehta, then a Rajasthan Administrative Services (RAS) officer and posted as Sub Divisional Officer, Aklera, was informed of locals in Manohar Thana, Jhalawar, blocking the road to demand an up-sarpanch re-poll. When Mehta and others reached the spot, Meena, who arrived with 6-7 men in a vehicle about half an hour later, took out a revolver and allegedly aimed it at Mehta’s head asking him to announce a re-poll within two minutes or get killed instead.

Mehta, as per records, told Meena that, “a revolver can kill but not enforce a re-poll.”

Despite the presence of senior police officials, Meena damaged recording equipment — to remove traces of his actions — and left the scene. At the time, he already had 15 criminal cases against him and was not yet an elected representative.

Subsequently, the District Magistrate asked the Superintendent of Police to lodge an FIR, who then directed the concerned SHO and an FIR under several sections of the IPC, PDPP and the Arms Act was lodged. Key testimonies came from Mehta, IAS probationer Pritam B. Yashwant, and Tehsildar Ramkumar, while other witnesses mostly turned hostile.

Meena was arrested three years after the incident and released on bail the same day. His lawyers argued that the case was politically motivated and pointed to inconsistencies in witness statements. Advocate Manish Gupta confirmed they plan to challenge the HC order in the Supreme Court via a Special Leave Petition.

Meena first won election from Manohar Thana in 2013 and was re-elected from Anta, Baran District in 2023. Meanwhile, Mehta is now an IAS officer and serves as Secretary, Rajasthan Public Service Commission, Ajmer.