Court Stays Arrest Warrant Against SFI's Aishe Ghosh Day After Delhi Police 'Barge Into' CPIM Office
New Delhi: The Patiala House Court has stayed a Non Bailable Warrant (NBW) against Students' Federation of India (SFI) leader Aishe Ghosh until the next date of hearing, Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader and MP John Brittas announced on Wednesday (July 29) in a post on X.
"The 2021 case was dug up by the Delhi Police purely out of vengeance and to settle score," he wrote.
The order follows tense moments a day earlier when Brittas revealed that Delhi Police "barged into" the party's office and sought to arrest or detain Ghosh based on a case dating back several years.
Brittas shared a copy of Wednesday's order, which says the arrest warrant is stayed and adds Ghosh's explanation for why she could not make it to the previous hearing.
The warrant was stated by the Delhi Police officials who arrived at the CPI(M) office on Tuesday (July 28) as the reason to seek Ghosh's arrest. Ghosh is Delhi state secretary of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and its All India Joint Secretary.
'Youth protests targeted'
Former chief minister of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan and party general secretary M.A. Baby had condemned Tuesday's police action and said it was related to the student and youth protest in which Ghosh had participated.
“Coming in the wake of the SFI’s active participation in the recent Jantar Mantar protests against the NEET examination scandal, this action bears all the hallmarks of political retaliation. Such blatant misuse of state power reflects the BJP-led Union Government’s growing intolerance of dissent,” wrote Vijayan, who is a CPI(M) Polit Bureau member, in a post on X.
Baby said, “The illegal attempt by the Delhi Police to enter the CPI(M) Headquarters, AKG Bhawan, to arrest SFI leader Aishe Ghosh is a dangerous assault on democratic norms.”
“Whoever has participated in the student agitation, each one of them, at least the leaders would be picked up, that is the message that they [the Union government] wants to convey,” Brittas said.
The CPI(M) wrote on X, "Instead of addressing the legitimate concerns of students, the state is using police power to intimidate, silence and criminalise dissent.”
CJP demands government keep its promises
Also on Tuesday, the Supreme Court issued an interim order in a petition related to the protest march on July 20 called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) that appeared to allow FIRs against protesters, in particular those who have prior criminal records or cases.
The CJP reacted strongly to the ruling, telling the government that it must not become a ruse for state governments to pursue legal cases against protesters, violating the terms of its agreement with the Union government. It said the Union government ought to have placed the terms of its agreement with the CJP on the record in the top court.
The outfit's spokesperson said it would revive its nationwide student protest unless other state governments followed Assam and Bihar’s lead to start withdrawing cases against those who participated in the agitation demanding Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation as education minister.
West Bengal issued an order on Tuesday evening saying all except those facing prior cases would be exempt. Maharashtra also issued an order saying it would withdraw cases against the protesters.
Reports said these orders have to be notified to stop police forces from acting on prior complaints and notices. Thousands of notices, arrests and other detentions have occurred across the country since the agitation was called off on July 25.
The exemption agreed to by the government in a press conference on July 25 held with the CJP's members promised withdrawal of cases and immunity from future action – the CJP had said it is withdrawing the agitation in "good faith" based on the assurances.
This article went live on July twenty-ninth, two thousand twenty six, at twenty-nine minutes past seven in the evening.The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
