HC rejects Varun's plea on FIR, order may be challenged in SC

Allahabad (Uttar Pradesh), Mar 25 (PTI) In a setback
to Bharatiya Janata Party Lok Sabha candidate Varun Gandhi,
Allahabad High Court Wednesday turned down the plea for
quashing an FIR against him for his alleged anti-Muslim
speeches even as his counsel indicated that he is likely to
challenge the order in the Supreme Court.

"The petition stands dismissed," a division bench
comprising justices Imtiyaz Murtaza and S C Nigam said in its
order pronounced in a packed court room.

29-year-old Gandhi had challenged the FIR filed on
March 17 at Pilibhit's Barkheda Police Station under Sections
153 A (promoting enmity between different groups on ground of
religion) and 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by a
public servant) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 125 of
the Representation of the People Act.

The charges entail a maximum punishment of three years
jail term or fine or both.

On whether the order will be challenged in the apex
court, Varun's counsel Gopal Chaturvedi said outside the
court, "I am sure they will, although it may not be necessary
as far as the proceedings are concerned.

"But I am sure when a petition is being filed, then
everything that has been said against Mr Gandhi will be
questioned before the Supreme Court," he said.

Asked if Gandhi could be taken into custody, Chaturvedi
said that "arrest is a matter of satisfaction of the
investigating officer".

Noting that Delhi High Court has granted him
anticipatory bail, Chaturvedi said, the investigating officer
"has to be satisfied that the arrest is necessary. He doesn't
have to arrest merely because he has the power to arrest or it
is a cognisable offence. He need not arrest at all".

The counsel said Gandhi "is free to move anywhere in
the country".

On the High Court order, he said, "the court was
primarily of the view that since you have already approached
one court for a similar relief, why should you approach the
Allahabad High Court for the same relief".

Gandhi, in his petition, had alleged that the video
footage of a public meeting, on the basis of which the
Election Commission had taken the action, "had been tampered
with" and did not contain his voice.

The grandson of former prime minister Indira Gandhi
had claimed that the FIR, which was lodged nine days after he
made the speeches, was "a part of a political conspiracy" to
ruin his political career and tarnish his "secular image".

Reacting to the order, BJP's spokesman Balbir Punj
said, "for us all options are open. We'll wait for a certified
copy of the verdict to give a structured response to the
issue".

Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi said, "Varun Gandhi
deserves much worse than mere dismissal of his ill-conceived
petition since he has deliberately tried to create communal
polarisation." PTI Team
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