The Karnataka High Court has annulled the legal proceedings against two individuals accused of printing a political message on a wedding invitation. The card, which included the message, "Voting for Modi is the gift for my wedding," led to charges being filed against the bridegroom and the printing press owner.
The court's ruling, delivered by Justice M Nagaprasanna, strongly criticized the investigation as “reckless.” Justice Nagaprasanna stated, "The crime is recklessly registered, so is the chargesheet, on a reckless investigation," while quashing the case. The bridegroom, Shivaprasad from Alanthaya village in Dakshina Kannada, had arranged for the message to be printed on his wedding invitations ahead of his March 27 wedding. The printing was carried out at the press owned by A Balakrishna in Golithottu village.
Although the invitations were printed on March 1—well before the Election Commission released the poll schedule on March 16—the two men were booked on April 25 under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 127A of the Representation of People Act. The prosecution argued that the message could influence voters ahead of the elections, but the defense pointed out that the invite was created before the election schedule was even announced.
After reviewing the facts, Justice Nagaprasanna clarified that Section 127A of the Representation of People Act applies to the distribution of pamphlets or posters during an election period. He stated that since the invite was printed prior to the announcement of the election calendar, it could not be deemed an election pamphlet. "How a wedding invitation card was projected to become an election pamphlet by the complainant, or even the police who conducted the investigation to file a chargesheet, is not understandable," the judge observed, calling the situation "preposterous."
The judge further noted that the election observation process only begins once the election schedule is notified, with flying squads deployed to monitor campaign activities. "If an event had already happened long before the notification of the calendar of events, the flying squad finding the invitation later could not have resorted to the registration of a crime," Justice Nagaprasanna concluded.
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