BJP candidate from Pilibhit Lok Sabha constituency Varun Gandhi today withdrew his anticipatory bail application from the Delhi High Court.

The Counsel, appearing for the 29-year-old politician, submitted before the High Court that Gandhi sought to withdraw the petition in view of the Allahabad High Court’s order which had dismissed his plea for quashing criminal proceedings for making two inflammatory speeches.

Justice Reva Khetrapal accepted his plea and allowed him to withdraw the petition. She ordered, "Without going into maintainability issue and in the merit of the case, the petition is dismissed as withdrawn." The order rendered the stay on his arrest, granted by the Court on March 20 vacated.

The High Court last week granted Gandhi interim anticipatory bail. The Uttar Pradesh police will have no legal bar to arrest him.

The Barkhera and Hardoi police stations registered FIR’s on March 17 on a direction given by the Election Commission. Meanwhile, a Delhi-based Islamic organisation Ittehade Mili Muslemin, moved a Delhi court to order the Election Commission to debar Varun Gandhi from contesting elections for 10 years.

UNI