Gujarat High Court to hear ex-MLA Jayanti Bhanushali’s plea today

The Gujarat high court will hear on Wednesday a petition moved by former BJP MLA Jayanti Bhanushali seeking quashing of an FIR lodged against him by a 21 year old woman.

The woman has accused the MLA of rape.

Bhanushali has in the petition argued that the FIR is a false one and is politically motivated.

The Gujarat police has so far been unable to trace and arrest Bhanushali despite two summons in connection with a complaint filed with Sarthana police station in Surat.

The complaint alleged that Bhanushali on several occasion from last November onwards raped her after promising to get her admitted to a fashion design institute.

After the complaint surfaced the 53 year old resigned as the vice president of Gujarat BJP. In his resignation letter he had denied the rape allegations and called it a conspiracy to malign his image.

Bhanushali had represented Abdasa Assembly constituency in Kutch from 2007 to 2012.

It should be noted that the woman has also moved the Gujarat high court alleging that the MLA had pressured a complainant in connection with a case lodged against her in Kutch.

Goswami is jail for allegedly blackmailing Bhanushali's nephew with an obscene video. A case was filed in April this year in Naroda police station and Goswami was arrested.

Earlier in June, another case was filed against the woman in Naliya police station in Kutch by one Ajay Thakkar. But she was not formally arrested. The woman had moved the petition stating that Thakkar was pressured to file a complaint against her.