Belagavi: Assembly elections are to be held soon and the Election Commission has started booking cases against violators of the
model code of conduct (MCC). Although such cases create a lot of buzz in the media, many of them do not get to their logical end.
As many as 101 cases of MCC violation were booked during the 2013 assembly elections in Belagavi district covering 18 assembly constituencies and 194 accused were arrested. In the past five years, none of the accused has been jailed. The accused were convicted in just 12 cases and they were released after they paid fines ranging from Rs 500 to Rs 5,000.
According to information availed from the offices of superintendent of police and the city police commissioner, the accused were acquitted in 33 MCC violation cases. In two cases, police filed ‘B’ report and ‘C’ report while in one case the only accused has died.
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trial is pending in the remaining 51 cases. Among these, some cases are pending at
evidence stage while police are yet to record the statements of the accused in some cases. The trial in a few cases is yet to start even after five years and police have not filed chargesheets in some cases. In many cases, the court has issued non-bailable warrants.
Most of the persons accused in MCC violation cases were drivers, cleaners, porters, owners of the vehicles transporting cash or different materials to be distributed among voters. This apart, most of the cases have been filed against low level party workers for distributing food, liquor or goods to voters on behalf of candidates.
Investigating agencies hardly pay interest to trace these cases once the elections are over, due to which over 50% of MCC violation cases are still pending in different stages of trial. This is why politicians are least bothered about the model code of conduct. They are only worried about losing their election material.
In one case, an FIR was registered against present cooperative minister Ramesh Jarkiholi and four of his followers for allegedly printing handbills, paper badges and cutouts without getting permission of the Election Commission. Police are yet to file a chargesheet in this case. An FIR registered against Khanapur MLA Arvind Patil is still in the evidence stage.
The Election Commission had recovered plastic chairs, water cans, sewing machines, cell phones, T shirts, saris, bags, amplifiers, cement bags, dhotis and shirt pieces, various types of electrical and electronic goods and home need materials apart from huge cash and liquor in the last assembly elections.
Poll code violation cases of 2013
No. of cases registered - 101
Persons arrested - 194
No of accused convicted - 12
Acquitted - 33
Cases pending at trial stage - 51
