New Delhi, March 8 : Former IPS officer Bharati Ghosh, once considered close to chief minister Mamata Banerjee, has moved the Supreme Court seeking stay of arrest warrant and quashing of FIR against her.
Ghosh is the BJP candidate from Debra constituency of West Midnapore district against Trinamool Congress candidate Humayun Kabir, also a former IPS officer.
Ghosh, in her intervention application, said she is facing unprecedented violence in all booths of Keshpur and an FIR lodged against her during 2019 Lok Sabha poll contains incorrect, baseless and malicious contentions, all of which are part of a well-planned political vendetta.
The plea said that despite apex court order of “no coercive steps” in series of “false cases” lodged against her on February 19, 2019, which was extended from time to time, she has been subjected to practice of entangling in new cases and continues to face pressure in all possible manner.
“Petitioner submits that such FIRs are kept secret as long as possible only to emerge suddenly to harass the applicant/petitioner and to keep her entangled in Court proceedings at every moment and, consequentially, to prevent her from pursuing her political career,” said the plea.A bench comprising Justices U U Lalit and K M Joseph did not take up the matter today, but listed for hearing on Tuesday.
The FIR at Keshpur police station was lodged against Ghosh for alleged voluntary causing hurt, wrongful restraint and attempt to murder and under provisions of Representation of People’s Act, during Parliamentary elections on May 12, 2019.She said this FIR was not uploaded until recently.
She added that on July 11, 2019 and November 5, 2019, when she placed on record certain FIRs by filing respective miscellaneous applications for appropriate direction(s), she was not in the knowledge of other FIRs which were not uploaded on the website.“for one-year and ten months she was not informed about this FIR by the State Police, although the State had appeared before this Court several times post May 12, 2019 and had made submissions regarding the other cases against the Applicant/Petitioner”, said the plea.
Ghosh said this is nothing but a flagrant, deliberate, and wilful disobedience of the order passed by the top court.She urged the apex court to quash FIR in Keshpur police station and all proceedings consequential to the FIR
.
