The Karnataka High Court has recently stayed all criminal proceedings against a man, Shivaprasad, who printed a message on his wedding invitation card asking guests to vote for Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the 2024 parliamentary elections.
On November 11, 2024, Justice M. Nagaprasanna issued the interim stay order, and also issued notices to the Karnataka government and the polling officer, who had initially filed the complaint, seeking their responses on the petition to quash the charges.
The case stemmed from a wedding invitation printed by Shivaprasad, in which he included a message stating that “the gift you would give me in the marriage is vote for Narendra Modi.” This was interpreted as a violation of the election code of conduct, leading to a complaint from the election officer.
Shivaprasad was charged under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code (disobedience to public servant’s orders) and Section 127A of the Representation of the People Act (RP Act), which governs election-related conduct.
However, Shivaprasad’s counsel argued that the invitation was printed on March 1, 2024, well before the election code of conduct came into effect on March 16, 2024. The petitioner’s lawyer contended that the complaint was made in April, a month after the election calendar was declared, and thus the RP Act, which applies only during the election period, was not applicable to this situation.
Furthermore, court agreed, noting that the act of printing the invitation card occurred prior to the election period, and therefore it should not be considered an offence under Section 127A of the RP Act.
The Court found that the magistrate’s decision to grant permission for the FIR without following the proper legal procedure was flawed, and as such, the proceedings against Shivaprasad were “bad in law.”
In response to the arguments, Justice Nagaprasanna stayed the criminal proceedings and ordered the case to be heard again on December 12, 2024. The court’s interim stay has effectively paused any legal actions against Shivaprasad and the printing agency involved, pending the next hearing.
