Gujarat High Court Refuses Anticipatory Bail To AAP MLA Accused Of Firing In Air To Threaten Forest Officers

The Gujarat High Court today rejected an anticipatory bail plea filed by Aam Aadmi Party MLA Chaitra Vasava who has been accused of threatening forest officials by firing in the air while trying to resolve a farming-related matter.

Rejecting his bail plea, a bench of Justice JC Doshi observed that the legislator did not have any authority to call two forest department officials to his home and run a "parallel court" to resolve the land encroachment issue.

During the hearing of the case, the High Court also remarked that if people had any complaints regarding the actions of forest department officials, they should have approached the court, instead of going to the MLA seeking a solution.

It may be noted that Vasava has been absconding since an FIR was registered against him in the matter. His wife, personal secretary and another person named in the FIR have already been arrested.

The incident took place on October 30 when the Forest Department objected to the use of forest land for farming by private persons. After the locals complained about the same to the MLA, he threatened Forest Department officials, pursuant to which, an FIR in the matter was registered at Dediapada Police Station on November 2. Vasava is one of the five AAP MLAs elected in 2022. He was also appointed by AAP as its legislative party leader in the Gujarat Assembly.