Court orders FIR against Arvind Kejriwal for 'defacing' public property

A Delhi court on Tuesday ordered Delhi Police to file an FIR against former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and others in a defacement of public property case.

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Additional chief judicial magistrate Neha Mittal said one Shiv Kumar Saxena submitted visual evidence with the date and time indicating that the illegal banners bore the names and photos of the accused persons, including Kejriwal.

The court ordered the FIR against Kejriwal, former MLA Gulab Singh and then Dwarka councillor Nitika Sharma for installing "large-sized" banners.

"The seriousness of the offence...can be gauged from the fact that it is not only an eyesore and public nuisance thereby destroying the aesthetic sense of the city but is also hazardous and dangerous to the smooth flow of traffic by distracting traffic and poses a safety challenge to the pedestrians and vehicles. Deaths caused by collapse of illegal hoardings are not new in India,” the court said.

The court, taking note of the evidence, said that "hanging a banner board or affixing hoardings" amounted to defacement of property under Section 3 of the Act.

“The application under Section 156 (3) of (erstwhile) Code of Criminal Procedure (power of magistrate to order police investigation in a cognisable offence) deserves to be allowed," it held.

The station house officer (SHO) concerned was, therefore, directed to register the FIR "immediately under Section 3 of the Delhi Prevention of Defacement of Property Act, 2007".

The court said Section 5 of the Act prescribed an offence under the law to be cognisable.

The court said it would be unfair to expect the complainant to gather evidence against the persons responsible and only Delhi Police could carry out a thorough investigation.