Rejecting a plea for a lighter punishment, a Delhi court on Tuesday sentenced AAP MLA Manoj Kumar to three months in jail for interfering in the election process during the 2013 Assembly polls.
The court later granted bail to the MLA on a personal bond of ₹10,000 till July 25, after the his counsel submitted that Kumar wanted to challenge his conviction.
The chargesheet said the MLA and his supporters had closed the main gate of a municipal school at Kalyanpuri where the polling was taking place, locking the poll officers inside the booth.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Samar Vishal sentenced the MLA from Kondli under Section 131 of the Representation of People Act, 1951, and under Section 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions) of the IPC.
“None of the reasons given on behalf of the convict compels me to consider a lighter sentence, considering that the convict interfered with the poll process — a conduct that is not only illegal but also undemocratic,” Mr. Vishal said in his judgment, while rejecting Kumar’s plea for release on probation.
“The punishment needs to be deterrent... Kumar is sentenced with simple imprisonment for a period of three months with fine of ₹10,000 under Section 131 of the RPA; and for another three months under Section 106 of the IPC... Both the sentences shall run concurrently,” the ACMM said.
