SOURCE :- SIASAT NEWS
Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has granted an interim stay on an FIR registered against two booth-level agents accused of submitting Form 7 applications with allegedly false information to remove names from the electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
The court observed that the complaint appeared, prima facie, to have been filed in haste. The interim relief was granted on Friday, October 9, by a bench headed by Justice Anant Ramanath Hegde while hearing a petition seeking the quashing of the FIR.
The case was registered at the Vyalikaval police station in Bengaluru following a complaint by Congress leader Anoop Ayyangar. The accused, Vasanthalakshmi and Deepak Singh, who are booth-level agents associated with the Malleshwaram constituency, approached the High Court challenging the police action.
Senior advocate Arun Shyam, appearing for the petitioners, argued that booth-level agents were entitled to submit applications seeking deletion of names from electoral rolls. He maintained that the applications were required to be verified by election officials, who would decide whether the requests were valid.
Additional Special Public Prosecutor Anoop Kumar opposed the petitioners’ arguments, alleging that they had submitted 778 Form-7 applications despite the number ordinarily being limited to 50. He contended that the applications were intended to facilitate the removal of voters for improper reasons.
During the hearing, Justice Hegde questioned the prosecution about the legal provision under which submitting more than 50 applications would constitute an offence. The judge also asked whether election officials were responsible for examining the applications and determining their validity.
The court further pointed out that voters whose names were proposed for deletion would be issued notices and given an opportunity to respond. After hearing both sides, the bench ordered an interim stay on the FIR. The order provides temporary relief to the petitioners while the legal challenge is considered.
SOURCE : SIASAT
