Guwahati:
The Chief Judicial Magistrate of Kamrup Metropolitan on Friday fined Rs 2,000 the Chief Minister of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma and his wife Riniki Bhuyan Sarma, as they accepted their plea to delay appearance in a case related to alleged violation of the model code of conduct during Lok Sabha polls in 2019.
Before accepting the joint plea of the two, there was a bit of drama in the courtroom with the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) AK Baruah issuing a court order (of Rs 1,000 each) against Sarma and his wife for failing to appear and there was no representation on their behalf until 10:55 am.
However, the duo’s lawyer later reached the courtroom at 11 a.m. and filed two petitions on their behalf.
In the first petition, Sarma and his wife prayed for a postponement to allow more time and also requested copies of documents that had not yet been received from the complainant. The second plea concerned the recall of the order.
The accused’s lawyer mentioned that the Chief Minister was busy with the visit of the President of India to Assam, while his wife was also busy with her pre-arranged obligations.
“…in order to bring justice to both sides, the prayer of the two accused for granting a four-week delay to appearance has been partially allowed on condition of payment of the costs of Rs 2,000,” the court order said. .
The judge also recalled the injunction against them “provided that the two accused will appear before this Court on the next date” and set March 21 before their appearance.
The case was filed in May 2019 by the Additional Chief Electoral Officer against Sarma, who was a minister with several portfolios in the government of former Prime Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, and News Live TV Channel for alleged violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) in 2019. Lok Sabha polls.
Sarma’s wife Riniki Bhuyan Sarma is the chairman and director of the Assamese news channel.
Baruah, in a February 11 warrant, had asked both to appear on February 25.
In its Feb 11 order, the CJM had noted that, according to the complaint, the two accused, Sarma and the News Live Channel, owned by Pride East Entertainments Pvt Ltd, represented by the then Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, appear to be the Lok MCC. Sabha Election.
The channel broadcast a live interview with the current Prime Minister “at 7.55 pm on April 10, 2019, i.e. within 48 hours of the 1st phase of the polls scheduled for April 11, 2019”.
The election department had filed the case after receiving complaints from the then president and secretary general of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC).
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.)