Last Update: April 11, 2023, 2:30 PM IST
The court said that the election authorities have no right to search or seize any material before the declaration of the election (Representational image: Shutterstock / File)
On March 19 this year, Ahmed, a resident of Shivajinagar, had approached the court after the area’s returning officer seized 530 bags of rice of 25 kg each from his residence.
Ahead of the assembly elections in the state, the Karnataka High Court on Tuesday said that the election authorities have the right to search and seize material only after the election is announced. The court made this announcement while ordering the release of sacks of rice seized from a social worker.
Ahmed, a resident of Shivajinagar, had approached the court on March 19 this year after 530 bags of 25 kg rice each were seized from his residence.
Delivering the verdict on a petition filed by Istiaq Ahmed, Justice M Nagaprasanna said that the Returning Officer or Returning Officer has no power to search or seize any material before the declaration of the election. PTI said the report.
“After the declaration of the election, the entire domain will be open, but not till then. Seizure is to be done by the authority/authorities under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 under normal circumstances. The Returning Officer and the Police Inspector, who conducted the search in the matter, He did not have such authority and therefore his action is illegal,” the court said in a statement.
The court held that merely because they have been appointed as officers to conduct elections, they cannot exercise the said power before the declaration of elections.
In this plea filed in the court, Ahmed had said that despite the returning officer replying to the notice, the sacks of rice were not returned to him. He distributed rice to the needy during festivals and the rice seized from him was meant for the same, his plea said.
“An injunction is issued to the respondents to release the seized rice bags to the custody of the petitioner forthwith, subject to the condition that the petitioner shall comply with the aforesaid conditions,” the court ordered.
Ahmed was directed to file an indemnity bond that he would not break the model code of conduct during the elections.
(With PTI inputs)
read all latest politics news Here