The Karnataka High Court has quashed the First Information Report (FIR) registered last month against two Congress leaders for allegedly instructing others to pasting posters relating to the PayCM campaign all over the town.
“The allegations made against the petitioners would not attract any of the offences either under Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act or under the Karnataka Open Place Disfigurement Act,” said Justice M Nagaprasanna.
The FIR against Narayana Gowda J S, who is president of the Indian Youth Congress in Nelamangala assembly constituency and Ramakrishna V, who is head of the party’s legal cell were quashed by the court.
Congress in Karnataka had last month launched the ‘PayCM’ campaign to target Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.
A police official in the FIR registered on September 22 alleged that when he was on night beat duty, he saw three persons pasting posters on the walls in public places. When they were chased and caught, they allegedly told the cops that the petitioners over the telephone had instructed them to paste the posters all over Nelamangala town, Live Law reported.
The case was registered for offences punishable under Section 3(1) of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984, Section 3 of the Karnataka Open Place Disfigurement Act and Section 290 of the Indian Penal Code.
“The allegation against the petitioners is that they have telephonically instructed pasting of the bills/posters which cannot mean that they would become guilty of the provisions of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, as they have not done any act that would become an offence under the Act,” the court said.
 registered last month against two Congress leaders for allegedly instructing others to pasting posters relating to the PayCM campaign all over the town.){kind=link}