Phoolan Wants Warrants Waivered

Bandit-turned-politician Phoo-lan Devi, MP, yesterday offered to appear before a special court here but sought waiver of non-bailable warrants of arrest against her in view of Parliament session starting today. She said if the execution of the warrants were not stopped the people of her constituency would suffer great loss.

The one-page affidavit filed by Phoolan Devis lawyer Nandlal Jaiswal said the Supreme Court had fixed Febraury 28 for hearing her appeal challenging the Allahabad High Courts rejection of Uttar Pradesh governments prayer for withdrawal of cases against her.

The judge fixed February 21 for taking up her application.

Phoolan Devi said she had given an undertaking to the apex court that she would appear before the Kanpur court but if the execution of non-bailable warrants of arrest was not stopped it would go against the larger interest of justice.

Earlier, the Kanpur court had twice extended the deadline for execution of non-bailable warrants of arrest against Phoolan Devi following rejection of UP governments application for withdrawal of cases against her.

In another application, Phoolan Devi has also challenged the jursidiction of the Kanpur court to try her under the Anti-dacoity Act, saying the offences allegedly committed by her dated back to a time much before the act went into force.

In all, 17 people were charged with in the Behamai carnage, out of which five persons had died since then, six persons on bail were appearing in the court while non bailable warrant against six others could not be executed so far.

Phoolan Devi, wanted in 65 cases of murder, dacoity and kidnapping in Uttar Pradesh, surrendered in Madhya Pradesh in 1983 and and was released on parole after being lodged in Gwallior jail for eleven years.