The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has quashed the proceedings before Judicial Magistrate IV in Tirunelveli against the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) leader Premalatha Vijayakanth. The case against her was booked in 2016.
During the 2016 election campaign in Tirunelveli, Premalatha Vijayakanth is said to have told the public that if anyone offers them cash for votes, they should demand payment of ₹ 1 lakh per person. Following the speech, the Tirunelveli police registered a case against her for offences under the Indian Penal Code and the Representation of the People Act. The case was investigated and a final report was filed. The case was taken on file by the Judicial Magistrate. The petitioner sought to quash the proceedings.
Quashing the proceedings, Justice G.R. Swaminathan observed that the petitioner’s words can never be understood as interfering with the free exercise of any electoral right and she was not casting any undue influence on the voters. The judge observed that the speech must be taken as throwing a challenge on those who were indulging in such acts of disbelief of manpower. That apart, a degree of exaggeration and margin must be permitted in such election speeches.
The court said that the offences were non-cognisable offences. Therefore, the Tirunelveli police could not have registered the First Information Report on their own. The registration of the FIR was bad in law, the court said and quashed the proceedings against the petitioner.
