New Delhi [India], March 7 (ANI): The Rouse Avenue Court on Friday dismissed Delhi Law Minister Kapil Mishra’s revision plea, in which he had challenged the trial court’s cognizance and summoning order in a case related to an alleged violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC).
The trial court had taken cognizance of the charge sheet in 2020, which pertained to a statement allegedly made by Kapil Mishra in January 2020, when the MCC was in force during the Delhi Assembly elections.
“The word ‘Pakistan’ is very skillfully weaved by the revisionist in his alleged statements to spew hatred, careless to communal polarisation that may ensue in the election campaign, only to garner votes,” the court said while dismissing the plea.
Special Judge Jitendra Singh dismissed the revision petition, saying, “The Election Commission is under a constitutional obligation to prevent the candidates from indulging in vitriolic vituperation with impunity, vitiating and contaminating the atmosphere for free and fair election.”
“Therefore, this court is in complete agreement with the Trial Court that the complaint filed by the returning officer, notification of the Election Commission and other documents were sufficient to take cognizance of the offence punishable under section 125 of the RP Act. Accordingly, the instant revision petition is dismissed,” the order stated.
The court also observed, “In fact, at this stage, the alleged statements of the revisionist (Kapil Mishra) appear to be a brazen attempt to promote enmity on the grounds of religion by way of indirectly referring to a ‘country’ which unfortunately in common parlance is often used to denote the members of a particular religion.”
The court rejected the contention that the alleged matter doesn’t attract section 125 of the RP Act.
It was submitted that his alleged statement nowhere refers to any caste, community, religion, race and language but has referred to a country which is not prohibited under section 125 of RP Act.
The court said that this submission is simply preposterous and outrightly untenable; the implicit reference underlying the particular ‘country’ in the alleged statement is an unmistakable innuendo to persons of a particular ‘religious community,’ apparently to generate enmity amongst religious communities. This can be effortlessly understood even by a layman, let alone by a reasonable man.
The court said that accepting the submission since the revisionist has not referred to any grounds mentioned in Section 125 of the RP Act (religion, race, caste, community and language) explicitly and hence Section 125 of the RP Act is not attracted would be a blatant negation of and brutal violence with, the spirit underlying the provision of Section 125 of RP Act.
“One cannot be allowed to do something that has been prohibited by Section 125 of RP Act, indirectly, if he cannot do it directly”, the court said.
Kapil Mishra had filed a revision plea against the summoning order of June 22, 2024, passed by the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate of Rouse Avenue District Court and all consequential proceedings pending in the Criminal Case against him under section 125 of the Representation of People Act, 1951 (RP Act).
Senior Advocate argued for Kapil Mishra that the offence under 125 of RP Act is a non-cognizable offence in view of the findings of the High Court of Karnataka in case titled as ‘Srikrishna Upadyaya’ and Prabhakar Bhat.
An FIR was filed upon receipt of a letter dated 24.01.2020 from the office of the Returning Officer, Assembly Constituency Model Town, addressed to DCP, North West, regarding Mishra’s violation of the Model Code of Conduct and RP Act. (ANI)
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