CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has quashed an election bribery case registered against Vedasandur MLA S. Gandhirajan of the DMK, citing procedural lapses by the police.
Justice G.K. Ilanthiraiyan of the Madras High Court ruled that the police failed to obtain prior permission from the jurisdictional judicial magistrate before registering the First Information Report (FIR), as mandated for non-cognisable offences.
The case was booked under Section 171E (bribery) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) during the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election campaign on April 3, 2021.
Justice Ilanthiraiyan observed that under Section 155 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Cr.P.C.), the police must secure the magistrate’s approval before proceeding with such cases.
In this instance, the FIR had been filed “mechanically” without following due process, he said.
The judge also quashed the charge sheet filed by the Eriodu police in Dindigul district, agreeing with the MLA’s counsel, K. Muthu Ganesa Pandian, that the prosecution suffered from multiple legal infirmities.
Noting that the alleged offences carried a punishment of less than one year, the judge pointed out that the charge sheet should have been filed within one year of the FIR’s registration, in line with Section 468 of the Cr.P.C.
In this case, however, the charge sheet, dated June 15, 2023, was submitted to the magistrate only on February 1, 2024 -- well beyond the statutory limitation period.
The judge also remarked that the allegations of unlawful assembly under Sections 141 and 143 of the IPC were baseless, stating that mere assembly of five or more persons does not constitute an offence unless the group’s objective falls under the specific categories listed in Section 141.
The case originated from a television news report alleging that Gandhirajan’s partymen paid money to women voters who performed 'aarti' during his election campaign at Thottanpatti railway colony on April 1, 2021. A Block Development Officer, heading an election flying squad, filed the complaint after viewing the footage circulated on social media.