APHC010597482025 IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH AT AMARAVATI [3521]

(Special Original Jurisdiction)

MONDAY,THE FOURTH DAY OF MAY TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY SIX PRESENT THE HONOURABLE DR JUSTICE Y. LAKSHMANA RAO CRIMINAL PETITION NO: 11917/2025 Between:

1. A NANTHA CHANDRA REDDY, S/O. LATE A. VENKATA REDDY,AGED

55 YEARS, D.NO. 7-370,COURT ROAD, ANANTAPUR-515001.

...PETITIONER/ACCUSED AND

1. T HE STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH, THROUGH STATION HOUSE OFFICER,ANANTAPUR III TOWN POLICE STATION,ANANTAPUR DISTRICT.REP. BY ITS PUBLIC PROSECUTOR,HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH,AT AMARAVATHI.

2. T HE ASST RETURNING OFFICER, 153 -ANANTAPURAMU URBAN AC TAHSILDAR, ANANTAPURAMU ...RESPONDENT/COMPLAINANT(S): Counsel for the Petitioner/accused:

1. P MADHUKAR REDDY Counsel for the Respondent/complainant(S):

1. PUBLIC PROSECUTOR The Court made the following:

ORDER

Criminal Petition has been filed under Section 528 Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita Act, 2023 (for brevity the ‘BNSS’) by the Petitioner/Accused No.2, seeking to quash the proceedings against him in C.C.No.485 of 2024 on the file of the learned Judicial First Class Magistrate (Special Mobile Court), Ananthapuramu.

2. The case of the prosecution is that during the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct for the General Elections, the Petitioner, along with other accused, participated in the distribution of sarees to poor Muslim women on the eve of Ramzan in Ananthapuramu town, in the presence of YSRCP leaders, with the object of luring voters in favour of the party’s candidate. This act, reported by the Assistant Returning Officer and corroborated by newspaper publication, is alleged to constitute undue influence under Section 171(F) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (for brevity ‘the I.P.C.,’) and disobedience of lawful orders under Section 188 of ‘the I.P.C.,’ thereby warranting prosecution.

3. Sri P.Madhukar Reddy, learned Counsel for the Petitioner submits that the very substratum of the prosecution case is misconceived, inasmuch as the Petitioner, arrayed as Accused No.2, is neither a contesting candidate nor an agent nor a person authorised by any political party to canvass votes. The alleged act of participating in the distribution of sarees during the Ramzan festival is a charitable activity undertaken annually, devoid of any electoral nexus. The invocation of Section 171(F) of ‘the I.P.C.,’ is wholly untenable, for the offence of undue influence presupposes inducement or personation in the conduct of an election by a candidate or his agent, which is conspicuously absent herein. Likewise, Section 188 of ‘the I.P.C.,’ cannot be pressed into service in the absence of any specific order promulgated by a lawful authority and knowingly disobeyed by the Petitioner. Mere reference to “violation of Model Code of Conduct” does not satisfy the statutory ingredients of Section

188 of ‘the I.P.C.’

4. Learned Counsel for the Petitioner further urged that even if the charge sheet allegations are taken at their face value, no offence is disclosed under Sections 171(F) or 188 of ‘the I.P.C.’ The continuation of proceedings against the Petitioner amounts to abuse of process and harassment of an innocent person. The Petitioner therefore requests for quashment of C.C.No.485 of 2024 on the file of the learned Judicial First Class Magistrate (Special Mobile Court), Ananthapuramu.

5. Per contra, Sri A.Sai Rohith, learned Assistant Public Prosecutor submits that the allegations are not baseless but are substantiated by contemporaneous material including the adverse news item published in Eenadu Telugu daily and the report of the Assistant Returning Officer. The distribution of sarees in the presence of prominent YSRCP leaders during the subsistence of the Model Code of Conduct clearly amounts to an attempt to influence voters and falls within the mischief of Section 171(F) of ‘the I.P.C.’ The Petitioner, though not a candidate, acted in concert with party activists and leaders, thereby rendering himself liable for partic