On the 27th of April, the Election Commission of India (ECI) directed the Delhi Police to file a First Information Report (FIR) against Gautam Gambhir, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member, for holding a political rally without prior permission.
The ECI directed the Returning Officer of East Delhi constituency to file a FIR against the cricketer turned politician.
“We have received a complaint from the election commission on Friday against Gautam Gambhir for conducting a meeting on Thursday in Lajpat Nagar. We took action under Delhi Police Act and filed a Kalandara against him after issuing challan,” said the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP, Southeast,) Chinmoy Biswal.
The directive came from East Delhi Electoral Officer K. Mahesh, who said Gambhir was guilty of violating the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) and didn’t have the required permission to hold a rally in Jangpura on the 25th of April.
The ECI made this move a day after Aam Aadmi Party candidate Atishi Marlena filed a criminal complaint against Gambhir. According to the complaint filed by Marlena, Gambhir was a registered voter from more than one constituency, which was a violation of the rules laid down by the Representation of the People Act (RPA,) 1951.
The plea was filed on the 25th of April by Marlena’s advocate Mohd. Irshad, who also said, Gambhir allegedly provided wrong information in the papers accompanying his nomination. According to Irshad’s plea, Gambhir’s affidavit and other documents, including those which had details about voter screening and registration, contained inaccurate information.
The nomination papers for Gambhir said, he was a voter from the Rajinder Nagar constituency, while Marlena says he is in fact a voter from Karol Bagh as well.
According to a press statement issued by Marlena’s office, the Delhi police filed the complaint under Sections 155 (2) of the Representation of the People Act. According to the Act, the offence Gambhir committed is a punishable act under Sections 17, 31 and 125A of the RPA.
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