The Supreme Court on April 30 rejected the plea of former IPS officer Debasish Dhar, who was contesting the Lok Sabha polls from Birbhum constituency in West Bengal. Dhar, who had been given a BJP ticket, challenged the cancellation of his nomination papers by the election authorities. The authorities cancelled his nomination after he failed to produce a ‘no dues certificate’ at the time of filing. Dhar had resigned from the IPS recently. The court refused to interfere in the matter at this stage, stating that it would disrupt the election process. The court rejected the submission of any prejudice by the returning officer against Dhar and stated that he had acted in a bonafide manner. The senior advocate representing Dhar sought permission to withdraw the case and approach the Election Commission, which was accepted by the court. In Dhar’s place, the BJP nominated senior party leader Debtanu Bhattacharya.