The Supreme Court Friday refused to give an urgent hearing to the anticipatory bail plea of a Goa politician John Fernandes, accused of raping a Russian woman.
A bench of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, Justice B. Sudershan Reddy and Justice P. Sathasivam refused to hear Fernandes' anticipatory bail plea, saying it would be heard only Jan 5, the date slated for the hearing earlier.
The bench also turned down his fervent plea to grant him protection from arrest till Jan 5.
Fernandes had lost the state assembly election by a narrow margin of 300 votes against his contender Mickky Pacheco, who is now Goa's tourism minister.
A 25-year-old Russian woman has alleged that Fernandes raped her Dec 1 mid-night after spiking her drink.
A trial court had earlier granted anticipatory bail to Fernandes, but the Panaji bench of the Bombay High Court cancelled it Dec 16.
A local court in Goa Friday evening declared Fernandes an absconder, due to the inability of police to arrest him.