The Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) court of Bhopal on Thursday issued an arrest warrant against Union Minister Uma Bharti over consistent failure to record her statement in a defamation case filed by senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh.
Taking serious note of the Minister's non-appearance before the court for recording of her statement as accused for about a year, Bhopal Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Bhubhaskar Yadav issued the arrest warrant.
CJM Bhu Bhaskar stating that since the accused is a Cabinet Minister and lower-ranked officials would dither from arresting her, the court directed that the warrant be executed through the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) to ensure her presence during the next hearing on October 19.
This order came in response to an application moved by Uma Bharti's lawyer Harish Mehta under Section 317 of CrPC, provision for inquiries and trial being held in the absence of accused in certain cases. The CJM observed that she has not appeared before the court during trials in the last one year.
During its last hearing on February 5, the court had directed Uma Bharti and Digvijay Singh to be present here for a possible mediation in the case on March 8. The direction came after the court admitted an application moved by Mehta stating about a possibility of compromise between the Union Minister and Congress leader. Uma Bharti was scheduled to record her statement in connection with the case during the previous hearing too, but was represented by her lawyer. Singh had already deposed before the CJM.
Digvijay Singh had moved the court against Uma Bharti for her purported statement in 2003 alleging a scam in Madhya Pradesh during his tenure as Chief Minister between 1993 and 2003. In the run-up to the 2003 Assembly elections, Uma Bharti had accused Digvijay of being involved in a scam of Rs 15,000 crore during his 10 years tenure. later in 2014 Digvijay Singh had said that he was ready to withdraw the defamation case only if she apologises in the court for "levelling false allegations".
