The Karnataka government has dropped charges against Hindu nationalist leader Uma Bharti over a deadly riot 10 years ago, a state spokesman said on Tuesday.
The move is expected to defuse a potentially divisive political row between the Congress party, which rules the state of Karnataka and the country, and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in which Bharti is an influential figure.
Bharti was remanded in custody last week after quitting as chief minister of the key state of Madhya Pradesh and travelling to Karnataka to surrender to the authorities to face the charges, which include attempted murder and inciting a riot.
"The attorney-general told the high court the government never reopened the case," said a spokesman for chief minister Dharam Singh.
The case stems from a 1994 Hindu-Muslim row over a public field where Muslims often prayed.
Karnataka authorities had ignored the case for years. But a court this month issued a fresh warrant for Bharti's arrest for defying a police ban at the time and leading hardline Hindus to try to raise the Indian flag to press their claim to the land.
Communal clashes followed the flag incident and six people died when police opened fire to disperse the rioters.
The state government has now told the High Court it stood by its 2002 decision to drop all charges against Bharti, a Hindu holy woman known for her fiery speeches.
The BJP organised a strike last Friday in Karnataka and had planned more and larger protests over her arrest.
The spokesman said Bharti's arrest was done by state police to meet court orders, but it was unclear why the case was revived this month. Karnataka police had made no attempt to arrest Bharti when she attended a public gathering in the state after the fresh warrant was issued.
The BJP accused Congress of a political witch hunt. But Congress has ruled the state since 1999 and never pressed the case. Bharti, a former union minister, has maintained she was innocent. She faced 14 years in jail if convicted.
Bharti played a key role in the BJP's rise to national power on a hardline Hindu campaign. The party was swept from office in New Delhi in May but still holds six states and is looking to fight back in a series of upcoming state polls.
The first is on October 13 in the crucial state of Maharashtra, home to the financial capital, Bombay.