Rioting Case | BJP MP Ramshankar Katheria Convicted, Sentenced To 2 Years In Jail By UP Court; Likely To Lose Lok Sabha Membership

An MP/MLA Court in Uttar Pradesh's Agra District has CONVICTED and SENTENCED BJP MP (representing Etawah) Dr Ramshankar Katheria to 2 years of imprisonment in a 2011 case lodged against him under Sections 147 (Rioting), 323 (Voluntary Causing Hurt) IPC. A fine of Rs. 50,000/- has also been imposed on him.

The Court found him guilty of vandalizing Torrent Power Limited company's office in Agra's Saket Mall in 2011 by creating a ruckus.

The FIR in the case was lodged on the allegations that on November 16, 2011, when the Manager of the company was hearing and disposing of cases related to power theft, Dr. Katheria, along with his 10 to 15 supporters entered the office and used force against him resulting in bodily injuries.

Due to this order of the Court, Dr. Katheria is likely to lose his Lok Sabha membership in terms of Article 102(1)(e) of the Constitution read with Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

For context, the 1951 Act provides that a person would be disqualified from their membership of either House of the Parliament or the state legislative assembly or council if convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for two years or more and shall continue to be disqualified for a further period of six years after their release.

In the past, Katheria has served as the Union Minister of State, Ministry of Human Resource Development (November 2014- July 2016). He has also served as the chairperson of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes. Before joining the BJP, he was working as a Professor of Hindi at Agra University where he took lectures on 'Dalit Chetna' (Dalit upliftment). He has also authored several books on the subject.