Indore: The Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court today stayed the proceedings in the Congress MLA Makhanlal Jatav murder case at a court in Bhind. State minister Lal Singh Arya is one of the accused in the case and the Bhind court had issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against him. Justice Ved Prakash Sharma of the high court today stayed the proceedings in the Bhind court. 

The CBI had challenged, before the high court, an Indore CBI court's order to transfer the case to a special court in Bhind on the basis of jurisdiction. Jatav, Congress MLA from Gohad, was shot dead by unidentified assailants during the general elections on April 13, 2009. The case was transferred to the CBI in 2009, but in the meantime, Bhind district police had filed a charge sheet in the matter in the local court. The special CBI court in Indore held that the case should be tried before the Bhind court as the charge sheet had been filed there. 

The CBI challenged it before the high court. During the hearing in the high court, the state government requested the high court to first decide the issue of jurisdiction, whether the trial would take place in Bhind or Indore. The HC today stayed the proceedings in the Bhind court. On December 5, judge Yogesh Gupta of the Bhind special court had issued an NBW against Arya, directing the police to execute the order by December 19, the next hearing, as he did not appear before the court despite several bailable warrants. 

Last month, Gwalior bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court had turned down Arya's anticipatory bail plea. Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly Ajay Singh today sought Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's resignation, alleging that he was shielding his cabinet colleague Lal Singh Arya who has been named in the murder case and is on the run.