NEW DELHI: In a significant development, the Mapusa Court in Goa has dismissed an FIR lodged against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The FIR was related to Kejriwal’s controversial statement during the 2017 Goa elections, where he asked voters to “Take money from everyone and vote for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)”.
The court noted that Kejriwal did not offer any gratification to the voters for AAP. “Thus the ingredients for the offence under Section 171B punishable under Section 177E of IPC are not made out,” the court stated. As a result, the court found “no sufficient ground to proceed against Kejriwal in the bribery complaint”.
FLASH: Major relief to #Kejriwal as #GoaCourt dismisses #FIR lodged against him.
Reports: @iAtulkrishan1— The New Indian (@TheNewIndian_in) April 6, 2024
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This case dates back to a rally in Goa seven years ago, where Kejriwal made a speech that was deemed objectionable. Following complaints, the Goa Police lodged an FIR based on these complaints. The main complainant in the case was Gurudas Desai, the then-returning officer, who complained about the violation of the Model Code of Conduct.
On January 20, 2017, the Election Commission Secretary issued an order to Kejriwal, alerting him to the incident and warning of severe consequences for him and his party. The EC vowed to wield all available powers, including those outlined in para 16-A of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order 1968, should there be any future breaches of the Model Code of Conduct.
Despite this legal victory, Kejriwal is currently lodged at Delhi’s Tihar Jail No 2 in connection with a Prevention of Money Laundering Act case about the Delhi Excise Policy Scam. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had sent nine summons to Kejriwal asking him to join the investigation. However, Kejriwal didn’t join the probe and skipped all the nine summons, after which he was placed under arrest by the ED.
