A Rajasthan woman police officer, sentenced to 30 days' rigorous imprisonment by the state assembly, has moved the Supreme Court challenging the resolution passed by the legislature punishing her for breach of privilege.
Ratna Gupta, sentenced on August 29 on charges of insulting the chairman and members of a House panel when they visited a Mahila Thana (women's police station) on July 19, 2010 of which she was the Station House Officer and ignoring repeated summons, sought immediate stay on the resolution passed by the Assembly.
Her counsel Amit Pawan Pawan mentioned the matter before the Registrar General of the apex court who after consultations listed the matter for September 2. The petitioner has contended that the action against her was incorrect.
The House passed by a voice vote the resolution handing down the sentence to Gupta, the then Station House Office of Gandhi Nagar-Mahila Thana (Jaipur) for breach of privilege of the House Committee on Women and Child Welfare after holding her guilty of misconduct and not providing requisite information.
The resolution, moved by Chief Whip Raghu Sharma and supported by the entire Opposition, said that she should be given the punishment and sent to jail for not providing information and insulting the chairman and members of the committee.
Sharma had said Gupta was served four notices and a warrant was issued by the Assembly, but she did not appear before the committee.
She did not respond to the Rajasthan High Court's direction to comply with the Assembly committee's direction, the Chief Whip had said.
