Supreme Court Approves Bail for Former MLA Girraj Singh Malinga in Engineer Assault Case
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Jaipur, Dec 13 (NationPress) The Supreme Court has granted bail to BJP leader and former MLA Girraj Singh Malinga, who is accused of assaulting an engineer working for the state's electricity department.
A panel comprising Justice MM Sundaresh and Justice Arvind Kumar directed the trial court to establish the terms of the bail.
Additional Advocate General Shiv Mangal Sharma, representing the state government, opposed the bail request, highlighting the serious nature of the allegations against Malinga.
The accusations stem from an incident where Malinga reportedly attacked an Assistant Engineer and a Junior Engineer from the Electricity Department while serving as an MLA. Following the Supreme Court's directive, Malinga surrendered to the SC-ST Court in Dholpur district on November 20.
During the hearing on November 8 regarding the assault case, the Supreme Court instructed Malinga to surrender within two weeks, stating that the case would be reviewed four weeks post-surrender.
The assault on Harshadapati and Nitin Gulati occurred on March 28, 2022, at the Bari Discom office located in Dholpur. On March 29, Harshadapati filed a complaint against the then Congress MLA Girraj Singh Malinga and others for assault, interference with government duties, and under the SC-ST Act. Five individuals were arrested in connection with this case.
As a result of the incident, the then Dholpur SP Shivraj Meena was transferred. The attack on the engineers sparked outrage among the electricity department employees. On May 11, 2022, Malinga surrendered to the then Police Commissioner of Jaipur Anand Srivastava. The following day, he was presented in the SC-ST court, which placed him in 15-day judicial custody.
Girraj Singh Malinga, who is charged with assaulting Harshadapati and a junior engineer at the Bari Discom office in Dholpur, was initially granted bail by the High Court on May 17, 2022. However, on July 5, 2022, this bail was revoked due to allegations of misuse.
During the proceedings, Harshadapati contended that Malinga had taken advantage of his bail citing a COVID-19 health issue. Once released, he allegedly organized a procession, threatened the victim and witnesses, and compromised the judicial process. This prompted Harshadapati to request the cancellation of Malinga's bail, a plea that the court accepted.
Malinga, who was a BJP candidate for the Bari Assembly seat in the 2023 elections, lost to Jaswant Singh Gurjar of the BSP. He previously served as the MLA from Bari for 15 uninterrupted years.
He first ran for election in 2008 on a BSP ticket and won his seat. Subsequently, he switched to the Congress party. He was elected as MLA again in 2013 and 2018 on a Congress ticket. After being denied a ticket by Congress for the 2023 elections, he left the party and joined the BJP.
