Navneet Chaturvedi, the self-proclaimed national president of the Janata Party, who was arrested in October last year for allegedly submitting nomination papers for Rajya Sabha bypolls with forged signatures of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislators, has been released from jail. Chaturvedi, 47, walked out on December 26 after spending 70 days in judicial custody.
From Jail to a Promise of Revelations
Speaking after his release, Chaturvedi struck a defiant note, telling The Indian Express, "Now, I am a free bird." He announced plans to stay in Chandigarh for a year until the next elections and vowed to fight his legal battles personally. His next court hearing is scheduled for January 16 in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, where he has filed an election petition.
Chaturvedi vehemently denied the charges of forgery leveled against him. "I want to tell the world that I did not forge any signatures. Those were real signatures," he asserted. He challenged the authorities to produce a forensic report disproving the authenticity of the signatures and questioned the logic of submitting forged documents to the Vidhan Sabha secretariat. "There is much more than what meets the eye. Things will be uncovered in the coming days," he promised cryptically.
The Political Storm and Multiple FIRs
The controversy erupted in early October 2026 when Chaturvedi, claiming to be an Independent candidate, filed his nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha bypoll asserting he had the support of 10 AAP MLAs. A week later, on October 13, he filed another set of papers with signatures of 10 more AAP legislators. This caused an uproar within the ruling party, forcing the named MLAs to clarify to senior leadership that they had not endorsed his candidacy.
The MLAs subsequently lodged a formal complaint with the Punjab Director General of Police and the returning officer, terming Chaturvedi's claims as "completely false, baseless, and misleading." Following their complaints, the Punjab Police registered multiple FIRs against him. He was arrested a day after the scrutiny of nomination papers on the orders of a Ropar court.
Chaturvedi, however, offered a different narrative. He claimed that not 10 but 13 AAP MLAs were actually with him. He alleged that had the scrutiny of papers been done on December 14 instead of December 13, those MLAs would have stood their ground, potentially leading to the fall of the AAP government and his own election to the Upper House.
A Dramatic Arrest and a Self-Styled Crusader
His arrest was preceded by a dramatic face-off between the Chandigarh and Punjab Police, with the city police initially preventing the state police from taking him into custody. Chaturvedi later stated he had sought protection from Chandigarh Police, fearing arrest by Punjab Police.
In the days leading to his arrest, Chaturvedi actively posted on social media, showcasing his stay in luxury hotels in Zirakpur and Chandigarh. According to police sources, during investigation, Chaturvedi stated his intent was to give MLAs the "right to vote" free from party diktats and to "make headlines in Punjab."
According to the Janata Party's website, Navneet Chaturvedi is described as a political analyst, RTI activist, and author of books like 'Geopolitics' and 'Modi as the Political Virus'. The website claims his investigative work has exposed several scams and that he has a background in social work concerning child trafficking and prisoners' rights. He had unsuccessfully contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from South Delhi.
With his release and his promise of upcoming disclosures, Navneet Chaturvedi has signaled that the political and legal drama surrounding the Rajya Sabha nominations is far from over.
