Guj HC stays summons against minister in poll code violation

The Gujarat High Court on Monday stayed summons issued against state Home Minister Pradipsinh Jadeja by a magistrate court on a private complaint filed by an election official alleging he flouted the model code of conduct during the 2007 Assembly poll campaign.

The court of Justice S H Vora stayed issuance of process against Jadeja under sections 127-A(1) and 127(2)(b) of Representation of the People Act until the final outcome of his plea in a lower court seeking quashing of the complaint against him.

The private complaint was filed by the then election officer in a magistrate court here in 2007 after the then city Congress president Prakash Shah raised the issue with the Election Commission.

Shah had alleged Jadeja, a BJP candidate from Asarva Assembly constituency, circulated pamphlets without the name of its printer-publisher during the 2007 Assembly poll campaign, thus flouting the model code of conduct in force at the time.

The pamphlets, distributed during Navratri that year, had photographs of Jadeja, then chief minister Narendra Modi along with the party symbol, as well as an image of goddess Ambe with a detailed prayer, Shah's complaint alleged.

On the basis of the complaint, the court had, in 2007, directed the police to investigate it under section 202(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

Based on the police report and deposition of two witnesses, the court, on December 31 last year, ordered issuance of process under sections 127-A(1) and 127(2)(b) of the RP Act.

The sections deal with restriction of printing of pamphlets when MCC is in force.

"On perusal of the contents of the pamphlet itself, on the face of it, it does not fall within four corners of provisions of section 127(A) of the RP Act or any ingredients of said section surfacing from the statement of two witnesses. Therefore, present application deserves consideration," the court said, while providing Jadeja protection from further conduction of trial.