The bench noted that the punishment of six months was less. But it did not pass any orders to this effect
Booth capturing and bogus voting should be dealt with an iron hand, said the Supreme Court in a recent order. The court upheld the conviction of eight persons involved in rioting with firearms outside a polling station in Jharkhand ahead of the 1989 Lok Sabha elections.
The bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and MR Shah directed the eight to surrender immediately and undergo the remaining sentence of six months.
The bench found that the testimony of witnesses proved the charges against the eight persons.
Nobody can be permitted to dilute the right to a free and fair election, the bench stated. “An important part of strengthening democracy and free election is by ensuring secrecy of casting a vote,” the bench said.
The eight accused, Lakshman Singh, Shiv Kumar Singh, Upendra Singh, Vijay Singh, Sanjay Prasad Singh, Rajmani Singh, Ayodhya Prasad Singh, and Ramadhar Singh, approached the top court against an order passed by the Jharkhand high court on October 31, 2018, rejecting their appeals against their conviction. Previously, a trial court in July 1999 held them guilty of rioting and voluntarily causing hurt.
The bench found that the charges against the eight persons were proved by the testimony of witnesses. The witnesses told police and the trial court that the accused came to the booth with an intention “to snatch the voters’ list and bogus voting”.
The bench noted that the punishment of six months was less. But it did not pass any orders to this effect as the state had not sought enhancement of the prison term.
