The Hindu : Front Page : Varun to withdraw bail plea

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Friday, Mar 27, 2009
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Varun to withdraw bail plea

Nirnimesh Kumar

NEW DELHI: Varun Gandhi, BJP candidate from the Pilibhit Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh, has decided to withdraw his anticipatory bail application from the Delhi High Court. It is listed for hearing on Friday.

Authoritative sources told The Hindu that Mr. Gandhi would withdraw the application on Friday, making himself available to the Uttar Pradesh police to take legal action against him for his alleged hate speeches. He is expected to visit Pilibhit in the next couple of days.

The Delhi High Court last week granted Mr. Gandhi interim anticipatory bail. It expires on Friday and the U.P. police will have no legal bar to arrest him.

Mr. Gandhi apparently took the decision to withdraw the bail application after the Allahabad High Court on Wednesday rejected his petition seeking quashing of two FIRs registered against him for his speeches in the constituency on March 7 and 8.

The Barkhera and Hardoi police stations registered the FIRs on March 17 on a direction by the Election Commission.

Meanwhile, a Delhi-based Islamic organisation, the Ittehade Mili Muslemin, filed a suit in a Delhi court seeking a direction to the Election Commission to debar Mr. Gandhi from contesting elections for 10 years.

Senior Civil Judge Manoj Kumar adjourned the hearing till Friday when the plaintiff, M.S. Khan, president of the organisation, sought time to file case laws and cite provisions.

Mr. Khan urged the court to pass a decree directing the Chief Election Commissioner to debar Mr. Gandhi from contesting any election for 10 years.

PTI reports:

Bihar Chief Minister and senior JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar said “legal action should be taken against him [Mr. Gandhi].”

Asked specifically by journalists whether Mr. Gandhi should be arrested if required, Mr. Kumar shot back, “What does legal action mean? It means all these things.”

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