HC quashes police charge that farmer ‘spread’ Covid

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has quashed a criminal case filed against a farmer for allegedly taking part in an election campaign while Covid restrictions were in place in 2021. According to the court, the criminal charge of trying to “spread infection of any disease” under Section 269 of IPC could not be sustained as the police failed to show that anyone in the group had Covid.

The said farmer Mahesh Kamadoli from Hangal, Haveri was accused in the case filed by the Hangal police station. Rakesh, an assistant engineer in the Irrigation Department was part of the flying squad during the by-election to the Hangal Assembly constituency. He had filed the complaint against Mahesh accusing him that on October 27, 2021 between 3pm and 7pm, the accused had gathered a crowd for the purpose of campaigning.

The assistant engineer further alleged that the said farmer had violated the instructions of the Central Election Commission a Standard Operative Procedure (SOP) for Covid-19. The farmer was charged under Section 3 of the Karnataka Open Place (Prevention of Disfigurement) Act and Sections 267, 171(H) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). A charge sheet has been filed in the case and it is pending before the Senior Civil Judge and JMFC Court, Hangal.

Mahesh filed a petition in the HC seeking the quashing of the case against him. Justice Hemant Chandangoudar heard the petition. The HC said that Section 3 of the Karntaka Open Places Act is not applicable to the city of Hanagal and therefore the FIR could not have been filed on that charge.As per Section 269 (spreading infection), the HC said that it was not shown that anyone in the group had Covid.

“To constitute the commission of offences punishable under Sections 269, there must be a material that in the said gathering at least one person was suffering from Covid-19 as a result of which there was possibility of infecting the remaining members of the gathering. In the absence of any material the registration of FIR for the offences punishable under Section 269 of IPC is also without any substance,” the HC said.

The HC also noted that Section 171(H) of the IPC is a non-cognizable offence “and as such the police ought to have sought prior permission from the learned Magistrate before registering the FIR.” But in the case of Mahesh, the police “without obtaining prior permission has registered the FIR for the aforesaid offence and the same is one without the authority of law.” The HC thus quashed the case pending before the JMFC court in Hangal.