Bhopal, April 3 – The Madhya Pradesh State Assembly has officially declared the Datia seat vacant following Rajendra Bharti's conviction for an offense, as established by a judgment issued by a court in Delhi on April 2.
The verdict, issued by Special Judge Digvijay Singh (PC Act) of the Rouse Avenue District Court, New Delhi, sentenced Bharti to three years in prison and a fine of Rs 1 lakh.
Rajendra Bharti, the elected member from Constituency No. 22 (Datia) of the 16th Legislative Assembly of Madhya Pradesh, is now disqualified from membership of the Legislative Assembly, effective April 2, 2026, according to a press release on Friday.
This action has been taken in compliance with the order of the Supreme Court dated July 10, 2013, and pursuant to Article 191(1)(e) of the Constitution of India, read with Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
Consequently, a seat in the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly has fallen vacant, it said.
In accordance with the court's judgment, the Speaker of the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly issued an order regarding this vacancy. A notification was published in the "Madhya Pradesh Gazette" on April 2, formally declaring the Datia Assembly seat vacant. This was communicated to the Election Commission of India for further necessary action, including the conduct of a by-election.
Rajendra Bharti was convicted by the Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi in a 28-year-old cooperative bank fraud case. The case involves serious financial irregularities related to a Rs 10 lakh fixed deposit at the District Cooperative Agriculture and Rural Development Bank in Datia in 1998.
Bharti and co-accused Raghuvir Sharan Prajapati were found guilty of criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery, and using forged documents.
The court sentenced both to three years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed fines of Rs 1 lakh on Bharti and Rs 2.5 lakh on Prajapati.
Although the court granted a two-month window to file an appeal and suspended the sentence during this period, the conviction triggered immediate disqualification under constitutional provisions and the Supreme Court's landmark 'Lily Thomas' judgment of 2013, which removed the earlier protection available to sitting legislators.
Bharti, a three-time MLA, won the Datia seat in the 2023 Assembly elections by defeating senior BJP leader Narottam Mishra.