Andhra Pradesh HC Quashes Poll Code Violation Case Against Actor Chiranjeevi

The Andhra Pradesh High Court has quashed the case of poll code violation against actor Chiranjeevi. The case had been registered against Chiranjeevi in 2014..

Actor Chiranjeevi

Source : ABP Desam

The Andhra Pradesh High Court quashed a poll code violation case against Actor Chiranjeevi on Tuesday. The case was registered against him in 2014 for allegedly holding an election rally beyond the permitted time, which resulted in traffic problems in Guntur. At the time, Chiranjeevi was a Congress leader, leading the party's election campaign during the 2014 elections.

According to a Times Of India report, the case against Chiranjeevi was registered under sections 188 and 341 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Seeking to quash the case, advocate A Swarupa appearng on his behalf argued in the high court that the charge sheet against Chiranjeevi was a gross abuse of the process of law. She contended that there were no allegations to establish the elements of a crime under section 341 of the IPC.

The allegations in the case were related to obstructing traffic and participating in an election campaign beyond 10 pm.

Swarupa Reddy argued that the police had registered the case when Chiranjeevi returned from the election campaign but had not participated in the campaign after 10 pm. She asserted that there was no evidence to suggest that he obstructed traffic.

On the other hand, the additional public prosecutor argued that the case was registered based on specific violations and pleaded for imposing a penalty on the petitioner.

After considering the arguments from both sides, Justice K Srinivas Reddy allowed the petition and quashed the case against Chiranjeevi.

Chiranjeevi entered active politics in 2008 by floating the Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) in then undivided Andhra Pradesh. Following the PRP's disappointing performance in the 2009 elections and subsequent developments, he merged the party with the Congress in 2011.

In 2012, Chiranjeevi was elected to the Rajya Sabha, and the same year, he became a minister in the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre. However, after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh to create Telangana state and the Congress party's defeat in the 2014 polls in Andhra Pradesh, Chiranjeevi became inactive in politics and resumed working in films.