Justice Rohit Arya, BJP
Almost three months after his retirement, former Madhya Pradesh High Court judge Justice Rohit Arya on Saturday joined the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP).
According to a report, Justice Arya received his membership BJP Madhya Pradesh Chief Dr Raghavendra Sharma in a program at the BJP State Office in Bhopal.
Justice Arya was born in 1962 and enrolled as an advocate in 1984. He was designated as a senior advocate by the Madhya Pradesh High Court in 2003. His major practice areas included civil law, commercial law, arbitration, administrative law, service law, labor law, and tax law. He also represented bodies such as the Central Government, State Bank of India, Telecom Department, BSNL, Employees State Insurance Corporation, and Income Tax Department.
He was elevated as Judge of the High Court in 2013 and sworn in as permanent Judge in 2015. He retired on April 27, 2024.
Notably, in 2021, Justice Arya had denied bail to comedian Munawar Faruqui and Nalin Yadav accused of hurting religious sentiments.
In the order, Justice Arya highlighted that there is a Constitutional duty on every citizen and the State to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood irrespective of religious, linguistic, sectional and regional diversities (under Article 51A(e) and (f) of the Constitution).
“The State must endeavour to ensure that this ecosystem and sustenance of coexistence in our welfare society is not polluted by negative forces,” he had said.
The Supreme Court had later granted bail to Faruqui after setting aside the order of High Court.
In 2020, Justice Arya had infamously granted bail to a man accused of having outraged the modesty of a woman to present himself before the complainant so that she may tie a “rakhi” on his wrist as a condition for his release on bail.
He had ordered the bail applicant and his wife to visit the complainant’s house on Raksha Bandhan day with a Rakhi thread and a box of sweets.
Apart from requesting the complainant to tie the Rakhi, which customarily denotes a brother-sister relationship, the applicant was also ordered to make a promise that he would protect the complainant to the best of his ability for all times to come.
This direction was susbequently set aside by the Supreme Court, which strongly criticised the bail conditions and issued a series of directions for lower courts to follow when handling bail petitions in cases related to crimes against women.
Aisha Patel is a dedicated Indian correspondent with a deep understanding of the nation’s diverse affairs. With a background in Indian culture, politics, and current events, she provides in-depth analysis and timely reporting on domestic issues within India.
