Divyanshu Budhiraja: Proclaimed offender Congress Karnal LS candidate granted bail

Chandigarh. Congress Karnal Lok Sabha candidate who was declared a proclaimed offender, has been granted bail in a case registered in 2018  by the Panchkula court here on Friday. Prior to this, in view of the directions of the high court issued on the last hearing on Thursday, he surrendered before the court and further was granted the bail during the hearing.

It is pertinent to mention that following an FIR registered in a five-year -old case, Divyanshu Budhiraja was declared proclaimed offender. It came to the fore after  Congress announced to field  him from Karnal Lok Sabha seat against BJP candidate  and former CM Manohar Lal Khattar.

After this, He had moved to high court last week  for quashing aforesaid FIR registered against him for his alleged failure to appear before the trial court in a criminal case. However, the High Court rejected the petition in Thursday's hearing. Then his lawyer assured to surrender in Panchkula court citing the reason for contesting Lok Sabha elections.

After which the High Court adjourned the hearing of the case till May 7 and he surrendered in  Budhiraja Panchkula court. Earlier, despite the repeated summons issued by the court to Budhiraja several times to appear, he did not appear which led to declaring him proclaimed offender by the Panchkula court.

Initially the  petition was dismissed by the high court  court during the hearing on May 2 but in view of the request of Budhiraja's lawyer that ''His client will surrender'' the matter has been listed for hearing on May 7 by the court. Legal experts are of the opinion that in case the petition gets  dismissed during the next hearing, then it is most likely to put obstacles in his way ahead of polls.  

The case will be argued on merit basis. It is noteworthy that the Panchkula court initiated proclamation proceedings against the Congress candidate in a five-year-old case of property defacement in 2023. It is noteworthy that in January 2018, when held the position of president of the Haryana unit of National Students Association of India (NSUI), he had organised a NSUI programme after he and his associates had released on bail in a criminal case registered against them for opposing then CM Manohar Lal Khattar in Panchkula.

The NSUI had put up hoardings and banners at roundabouts without taking the permission of local administration. A defacement case was then registered at the Sector 14 police station.