RLD leader freed in defacement case

New Delhi: A court has acquitted a Rashtriya Lok Dal candidate in this year’s Delhi civic polls of the charge of defacing public property by pasting her campaign posters on an electric pole, as the complainant himself was the investigating officer (IO) in the case.

Chief metropolitan magistrate Munish Markan absolved the RLD candidate, who contested the election from Jaitpur ward on a RLD ticket, of the said offence under the Delhi Prevention of Defacement of Property (DPDP) Act, 2007.

It was alleged that three posters carrying the RLD leader's photograph and phone number appealing for votes were found pasted on an electric pole, a government property.

Acquitting the woman of the charge, the court said, “As per law, the complainant should not be the IO in the case so as to rule out any ill­will or bias against the accused.” The court also noted that there was lack of evidence to show that police officers were present on the spot at the time of the commission of the alleged offence.

Under Section 3 of DPDP Act, 2007, for defacing public property a person can face up to one year in jail or fine which may go up to Rs 50,000 or both. The RLD candidate had denied the allegations and claimed that she was innocent as she did not paste any poster on the electricity pole.