Haldwani, Nov. 5 -- The state high court on Wednesday dismissed state cabinet minister Rekha Arya's husband Girdhari Lal Sahu's petition for protection from arrest and quashing of criminal charges against him based on a complaint lodged by the minister earlier this month. Sahu is accused of disclosing prior marriages from Arya when they were married in 2004, showering her with caste-based abuse while ministerial staff were present, fraudulently removing her ownership of shares in various firms, and maintaining multiple relationships with other woman, with one of whom he also allegedly plotted to kill her. Justice Alok Mahra observed that the allegations prima facie disclosed serious cognisable offences and cannot be dismissed as a mere matrimonial dispute.The court also noted that the authenticity of the alleged forged documents and audio recordings would require examination. Sahu's counsel alleged that he was being falsely implicated. They argued that he was married to Arya for 22 years, and no allegations of the nature at hand were made till recently. Addressing allegations that Sahu had the minister's signature forged on multiple occasions to cheat her out of her ownership shares in several firms, amounting to 80% of all her shares, he claimed that Arya consented to giving up the shares, and called for an high-level investigation into his allegations that Arya illegally accumulated shares worth Rs.210 crore after becoming a minister. Opposing the plea, the state government's counsel alongside Arya's legal representative highlighted the severity of the charges and submitted that Sahu had failed to cooperate with the ongoing investigation. The court held that the duration of a marriage does not rule out the possibility of subsequent cruelty or criminal conduct. Citing Supreme Court precedents in State of Haryana vs Bhajan Lal and the Niharika Infrastructure case, the bench emphasised that the high court cannot conduct a mini-trial at this stage. Finding no merit in the petition, the court dismissed the plea, and added that the allegations remain subject to determination through the legal process. The FIR against Sahu was registered under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 420 (cheating), 467, 468, 471 (forgery offences), 495 (concealing former marriage), 498-A (cruelty by husband), 504 (intentional insult), and 506 (criminal intimidation), alongside relevant provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The alleged offences span a period between July 2004 and October 2026. Alongside her complaint, Arya released a video statement on Facebook along with two audio clips of purported phone conversations between Sahu and another woman. HT could not independently verify the authenticity of these recordings. Dismissing the charges on October 16, Sahu claimed that the audio clips were AI-generated and alleged that Arya had amassed illegal assets worth Rs.210 crore as a minister....