[PayCM campaign] Karnataka High Court quashes criminal complaint against two Congress office bearers

The Karnataka High Court recently quashed a criminal complaint registered against two Congress office bearers for damaging public property by instructing three persons to paste posters relating to the "PayCM" campaign in Nelamangala town [Narayana Gowda and ors v. State of Karnataka]..Justice M Nagaprasanna examined the offences alleged to have been committed by the petitioners and found that telephonically instructing pasting of posters could not mean that they would be guilty of provisions under the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act. "Mischief would mean whoever intends to cause wrongful loss or damage to the public or to any person or causes destruction of the property would be guilty of mischief...If they have not done any act that would become offence under the provisions of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act," the Court explained..The petitioners had called into question the registration of the crime, contending that the provisions of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, the Karnataka Open Place Disfigurement Act, or Section 290 (public nuisance) of the Indian Penal Code, were not attracted, and therefore, the proceedings ought to be quashed.On the other hand, counsel for the government contended that the matter was still at the stage of investigation, and therefore, the Court should not interfere..However, the Court found that the allegations made against the two petitioners did not constitute offences under the two Acts. "For the aforesaid reasons, I deem it appropriate to terminate the proceedings against the petitioners," the order stated..What was in the FIR? .As per the arguments of the petitioner, three persons, namely Varun Kumar LN, Krishna Pawar and C Ashok Kumar, had pasted posters containing a QR code with the Chief Minister's portrait at various places in Nelamangala, campaigning against the rampant corruption and bribery.These posters were put up at the behest of the two petitioners - practicing advocate and Youth Congress President of Nelamangala constituency, Narayana Gowda and President of the legal cell of the constituency, V Ramakrishna..According to the complaint filed by assistant sub-inspector KR Narayan Rao, the pasting of these posters, which read, "Scan this QR code to expose government's corruption," amounted to defacing and vandalizing of public property.On the basis of this complaint, the applicants were charged for the offence of creating mischief by causing damage to public property..Three other accused in the case have already been granted anticipatory bail by Additional District and Sessions Judge of Bangalore Rural District S Sridhara..The petitioners in this case were represented by Senior Advocate AS Ponnanna and Advocate Surya Mukundaraj while the State government was represented by Special Public Prosecutor Kiran S Javali and High Court Government Pleader KS Abhijit..[Read Order]