BHOPAL: Former Madhya Pradesh High Court judge Rohit Arya has joined the ruling BJP in the central Indian state, almost three months after his retirement.
Arya joined BJP at the state BJP headquarters in Bhopal on Saturday. State party headquarters in-charge Dr Raghvendra Sharma welcomed the retired judge into the party. He later addressed a seminar on the three new criminal laws, which among others was also addressed by the state’s Deputy CM Rajendra Shukla.
Arya, as a judge of the Indore Bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court, has been in the media spotlight since July 2020 for granting bail to a man accused of outraging a woman’s modesty, on the condition that the accused got a Rakhi tied from the alleged victim woman (complainant) on Raksha Bandhan.
Granting bail to the accused in the June 2020 case registered in Ujjain district, the single judge bench of the High Court in Indore headed by Justice Arya, had held in the order on July 30, 2020, "The applicant (incarcerated accused) along with his wife shall visit the house of the complainant with Rakhi thread/band on August 3, 2020 at 11 am with a box of sweets and request the complainant to tie the Rakhi band to him with the promise to protect her to the best of his ability for all times to come."
"He (the bail applicant) shall also tender Rs 11,000 to the complainant in a customary ritual usually offered by brothers to sisters on such occasions and shall also take her blessings. The applicant shall also tender Rs 5,000 to the complainant’s son for purchase of clothes and sweets."
Later, however, the Supreme Court, while overturning the High Court’s bail order in the case, had issued directives to lower courts on handling bail petitions in cases related to crimes against women.
Just six months later in January 2021, Justice Arya was again in the news, this time for denying bail to stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui and co-accused Nalin Yadav in a case pertaining to alleged hurting of religious sentiments and violation of COVID-19 protocol in Indore.
While denying bail to the comedian and his co-accused (who were lodged at a jail in Indore), the bench headed by Justice Arya had observed, "It was the constitutional duty of every citizen of the country and the states to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood irrespective of religious, linguistic, section and regional diversities and to value and preserve the rich heritage of the country’s composite culture. The State must endeavour to ensure that this ecosystem and sustenance of coexistence in our welfare society is not polluted by negative forces."
The Supreme Court, however, granted bail to Faruqui, setting aside the High Court's order in February, paving passage for the stand-up comedian’s release from Indore jail after a month in the case pertaining to hurting of religious sentiments and violating COVID-19-related protocol, during a comedy show in Indore’s 56 Dukan area on New Year’s (January 1, 2021).
The 62-year-old Justice Arya retired as a Judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in April 2024. He was sworn in as a High Court Judge in September 2013 and Permanent Judge in March 2015.
Enrolled in August 1984 as an advocate, he was designated as Senior Advocate in August 2003 by the High Court of Madhya Pradesh. He practiced in the field of civil laws, commercial (corporate fiduciary, etc.), arbitration (international/domestic), administrative, service, labour laws, tax laws and represented various individuals and bodies, viz., Central Govt., SBI, Telecom Dept., BSNL, Employees - State Insurance Corporation, Income Tax Department.