NEW DELHI: In a relief to BJP member and former IPS officer Bharati Ghosh, who is to contest West Bengal assembly elections, the Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered that the non-bailable arrest warrant against her for alleged poll violence in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections be kept in abeyance till the conclusion of the assembly polls.
A bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, S Abdul Nazeer and Hemant Gupta restrained the West Bengal police from taking any coercive action against Ghosh so that she can contest poll and campaign for other candidates of her party. The bench noted that the apex court had granted her protection in the last Lok Sabha elections and agreed to grant relief. Senior advocate Nieeraj Kishan Kaul, appearing for Ghosh, contended that the state government was targeting her to ensure that she did not contest the assembly polls, He said around 30 FIRs had been filed against her.
Senior advocate Sidharth Luthra, appearing for the state, clarified that the warrant was issued by a lower court and police were supposed to comply with the order.