Court orders FIR againstKejriwal for ‘defacement’

New Delhi: In fresh trouble for Aam Aadmi Party chief and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, a Delhi court on Tuesday ordered registration of an FIR against him and two others for putting up large hoardings in Dwarka in 2019.
Observing that "prima facie" a cognizable offence had been committed, additional chief judicial magistrate Neha Mittal directed the SHO concerned to register an FIR immediately under Section 3 of Delhi Prevention of Defacement of Property Act, 2007, and for any other offence that appears to have been committed. The magistrate asked for a compliance report from the police by March 18.
Under Section 3, the maximum punishment is imprisonment for one year and the maximum fine Rs 50,000.
The court was hearing an application filed by Shiv Kumar Saxena seeking registration of an FIR, alleging that in 2019, Kejriwal, former AAP MLA Gulab Singh and BJP councillor Nitika Sharma misused public money by putting up huge hoardings with greetings for the public in Dwarka at intersections, roads, electricity poles, boundary walls of DDA parks and other public places.
The magistrate said such hoardings were a public nuisance, being eyesores and posed a hazard to traffic because they distract, adding that these threatened the safety of pedestrians and vehicles. "Deaths caused by the collapse of illegal hoardings are not new in India," the judge noted.
The judge rejected the prosecution's contention that it was impossible to collect any evidence at this stage due to the lapse of time and non-availability of particulars of the printing press. It was only the investigating agency that can be expected to come up with something substantial after a thorough investigation, said the judge, especially in an era of and technological advancement.
She said the investigating agency cannot be allowed to "blow hot and cold" as records show that the delay in the present case took place due to the non-filing of an action taken report (ATR) by the police.
The court expressed surprise over the ATR filed on behalf of the SHO in 2022 being completely silent on whether the alleged hoardings were present on the date and time alleged by the complainant. Further, it said the statement in the ATR that no hoardings were found on the date of the inquiry appears to be an attempt by the investigating agency to "hoodwink" the court, it said.
The court rejected the prosecution's argument regarding the omission of names of certain people from the present complaint, saying it cannot have any bearing on the fate of the present application.
In the earlier complaint filed in 2019 at the police station concerned, Saxena had mentioned the names of 8-10 people as accused, including that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, union home minister Amit Shah, BJP president J P Nadda, MP Manoj Tiwari and Pravesh Verma, but most of these names were omitted from the present complaint. In fact, reacting to the development AAP pointed this out.
On Sept 15, 2022, a magistrate court in Dwarka had dismissed Saxena's application seeking an FIR in the case. Following this, he had filed a revision petition in a sessions court. On Jan 21, 2025, a special court remanded the matter back to a magistrate court, which was directed to decide the application afresh.