SC puts in abeyance arrest warrant against Bharati Ghosh

The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed that the arrest warrant against former IPS officer and BJP candidate from Debra assembly constituency Bharati Ghosh — in connection with a 2019 Lok Sabha polls violence case — be kept in abeyance till the completion of the Assembly elections in West Bengal.

A bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, S Abdul Nazeer and Hemant Gupta also ordered that “no coercive action shall be taken against the petitioner till completion of the assembly election” and that “after completion of the election, it… would be open for the petitioner to appear before the concerned court and make such application as permissible”.

The court noted that it had earlier granted interim protection from arrest to Ghosh, which was extended subsequently.

The case was registered during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections under sections dealing with voluntary causing hurt, wrongful restraint and attempt to murder and under provisions of Representation of People’s Act.

Ghosh said that despite the top court granting her protection from coercive action earlier, she had been implicated in new cases.