MUMBAI: Bombay high court recently refused pre-arrest bail to a man who allegedly filled the forms for Bhiwandi Lok Sabha constituency in place of the official candidate of Bahujan Vanchit Aghadi by taking advantage of their similar names. “..
. the applicant’s actions undermined the integrity of the electoral process, a fundamental pillar of democracy. Considering the gravity of the offence, its far reaching impact on society, and the ongoing investigation, this Court is not inclined to exercise its discretion in favour of the applicant,’’ said Justice R N Laddha in the August 22 order.
Milind Kashinath Kamble was booked under Indian Penal Code section 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating) by the Bhiwandi police station, Thane. The Aghadi had nominated Milind Devram Kamble as its candidate in the Lok Sabha elections and provided him with the AB forms for the purpose. The A and B forms denote that the candidate has been approved by a political party and should be allotted the party symbol.
The informant Kamble gave the forms to the accused to complete its details and he “fraudulently and deceitfully” filled his name instead. The accused’s advocate Prakash Wagh said his client is innocent and has not indulged in any wrong doing as alleged and with no elements of the offence applicable to him. He said nothing has to be recovered from him and he is willing to cooperate with the investigation.
Prosecutor Swapnil Pednekar emphasised the severity of the offence, which occurred during the election process and resulted in informant Kamble losing the opportunity of contesting the elections due to this mischief. Justice Laddha noted that the political party had entrusted Kamble with the AB form which he gave to the accused for completion. “However, the applicant allegedly betrayed this trust and filled out the form in his own name,’’ he added.
Justice Laddha mentioned that India’s electoral process is a vibrant and resilient mechanism that upholds the core democratic principles of freedom, fairness and transparency and serves as the foundation of the world’s most populous democracy. “It reflects the people’s will and reinforces representative governance. The candidate selection process allows political parties to choose their preferred candidates for the ballot paper, guided by internal rules and procedures, with an expectation of transparency and fairness,’’ he added.
Rejecting the application, Justice Laddha said “custodial interrogation of the applicant would be necessary to uncover the truth.”.
