HC dismisses Champion’s plea and refuses to grant relief from arrest

Nainital: The Uttarakhand high court (HC) dismissed the plea of expelled BJP MLA from Khanpur, Kunwar Pranav Champion, on Wednesday.

Champion

had requested the court to grant him relief from arrest in a complaint filed by the BJP MLA from Jhabrera, Deshraj Karanwal. With the HC refusing to grant Champion relief, he may now be arrested as an FIR has been filed under the SC/ST Act.

After hearing the arguments from both Champion and Karanwal’s counsels, the single judge bench of Justice Manoj Tiwari quashed Champion’s plea finding no merit in it and said it will not stay his arrest by the Haridwar police, according to Arvind Vashisht, the counsel appearing for Karanwal.

Both the MLAs were at loggerheads for a long time and have been throwing barbs at each other. Though there were speculations, compromise had been reached between the two on behest of chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat but earlier this month, Karanwal filed an FIR alleging that Champion had used casteist and racial remarks against him and his wife Vaijayanti Mala.

“Champion has had a history of using derogatory language against Karanwal and therefore he filed an FIR against him earlier this month,” Vashisht said.

The FIR claimed that Karanwal used the derogatory remarks where he reportedly made fun of his caste and the colour of his skin reportedly both in print and digital media. The FIR also stated that since Champion is a powerful man in the area, there is a constant threat to lives of Karanwal and his wife.

“He has issued these threats to the media and therefore there is a constant threat to the lives of complainant and his wife,” the FIR read.

Now that the HC dismissed Champion’s plea, he may be arrested as the FIR has been filed under the SC/ST Act as well as several sections of the IPC. These were sections 153 (promoting enmity between communities on grounds of race, religion place of birth or doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony), 295A (outraging religious feelings), 506 (criminal intimidating) and 509 (word or gesture intended to insult the modesty of any woman).