5 guarantee schemes of Congress should be treated as social welfare, cannot be called corruption: HC
Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Saturday ruled that while the manifesto released by the state Congress during the 2023 assembly elections can be criticized for wrong policies, it cannot be deemed as corruption under the Representation of People Act.
A single member bench headed by Justice MI Arun dismissed an election dispute petition filed by a local voter Shashank J Sridhar challenging the election of Chamrajpet MLA Zameer Ahmed. Subsequently, the bench said that the five guarantee schemes announced by the Congress party should be considered as social welfare schemes.
The bench further stated, “alongside questioning about whether it is possible to advance the guarantees economically. Other parties will have to show how implementation of these schemes will bankrupt the state exchequer and lead to mismanagement of the state. Depending on the facts and context of the case they may be interpreted as wrong policies. However, they cannot be called corruption.”
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However, the court stated that if a candidate, their agent, or any other person associated with the campaign makes such announcements with the candidate's consent, it would constitute corruption.
The court further emphasised that voters must scurtinise whether the policies are beneficial or merely involve distributing freebies, potentially favoring one group over others. The court also clarified that under Section 123 of the Representation of the People Act, such declarations cannot be considered acts of corruption. Consequently, the petition challenging the election of Zameer Ahmed Khan solely on the grounds that the Congress Manifesto constitutes corruption was dismissed.
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Jharkhand: 3 arrested for 'raping' 2 women in Gumla
Gumla (PTI): Three persons were arrested on Monday for allegedly raping two women at a village in Jharkhand’s Gumla district, police said.
All the three accused have been remanded to judicial custody, Gumla Sadar Police Station officer-in-charge, Mahendra Karmali, told PTI.
According to police, one of the women had been called to Gumla Sadar by her boyfriend on Sunday for an outing.
“She arrived at the spot accompanied by a female. The woman’s boyfriend then called a friend, and they took the two women to a secluded place in Sisai police station area in the evening, forcibly made them consume alcohol before raping them,” the officer said.
The accused later called another man to the spot, who also allegedly raped the women, he said.
“The women later reached the Sadar Police Station and lodged a complaint on Sunday night. Police conducted raids and nabbed the three accused on Monday,” he added.
Further investigation is underway.
