The Jharkhand High Court has recently dismissed a petition filed by Congress MLA Pradeep Yadav, in which he sought the transfer of a criminal case filed against him from Dumka to Bokaro.
This case pertains to the alleged sexual exploitation of a female JVM-P party worker in 2019 and remains pending in a Dumka court. Just earlier this month, the court had also rejected Yadav’s petition seeking the dismissal of the sexual harassment case against him.
After hearing the arguments, a bench of Justice Subhash Chand had previously reserved its order on this matter. Pradeep Yadav, who had switched to the Congress party after winning the 2019 assembly elections on a JVM-P ticket from Poraiyahat, is currently facing prosecution in the MP-MLA court in Dumka.
The case originally began with the filing of an FIR by the woman, who is not only a JVM-P member but also an advocate of the high court. She alleged that in April 2019, Yadav attempted to rape her during a meeting at a hotel in Deoghar, where they had gathered to discuss the strategy for the Lok Sabha elections. Fortunately, she managed to escape from the scene of the incident. Additionally, she claimed that the MLA and his supporters had subsequently issued threats against her.
Yadav’s legal representative, Bimalkirti Singh, argued before the high court that his client was a victim of political vendetta and had been falsely implicated in the case. In response, the victim’s advocate, Gautam Kumar, presented evidence suggesting that there was a prima facie case indicating Yadav’s attempt to exploit the woman by offering her political advantages.
It’s worth noting that following the rejection of his anticipatory bail plea by the high court, Yadav voluntarily surrendered before the special court in July 2019. Subsequently, he was granted bail by the high court in September of the same year.
