A First Information Report (FIR) has been registered against Minister for Tamil Culture ‘Ma Foi’ K. Pandiarajan for having used a dummy coffin with Jayalalithaa’s figurine draped with a national flag during the RK Nagar by election campaign in support of the then AIADMK (Puratchi Thalaivi Amma) faction, the police told the Madras High Court on Tuesday.
The submission was made before Justice M. Dhandapani during the hearing of a petition filed by K. Nowshath Ali Khan of Karaikudi in Sivaganga district. The petitioner had sought a direction to the Inspector of RK Nagar police station to register an FIR against the Minister and others on the basis of a complaint lodged by him on April 21, 2017.
In his complaint, the petitioner contended that the act of the politicians in draping the national flag on a dummy coffin to gain political mileage and sympathy from the voters of the constituency would squarely amount to insulting the flag and amount to an offence under Section 2 of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act of 1971. However, government counsel brought it to the notice of the court that even before the petitioner could lodge a complaint. N. Pandian, a member of the flying squad of the Election Commission, had lodged a similar complaint on April 6, 2017. The complainant contended that the use of a dummy coffin with Jayalalithaa’s figurine in it was in violation of election rules.
Hence, the police registered an FIR under Section 171F (punishment for undue influence or personation at an election) of the Indian Penal Code read with Section 123(2)(b) of the Representation of the People Act of 1951 alone because the election official had only complained with regard to violation of the code of conduct to be followed during the election period. Subsequently, the police received the petitioner’s complaint and altered the FIR to include the offence under Section 2 of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act too. As of now, the case was under investigation. Therefore the petition need not be entertained, government counsel told the court.
After recording his submission, the judge closed the petition with liberty to the petitioner to work out his remedy in accordance with law if he still had any grievances.
