Election officials have no jurisdiction to search or seize any material before elections are notified: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court recently observed that the election officials would not get any jurisdiction to search or seize any material before the announcement of elections.

The bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna said that merely because they are appointed as Officers for conduct of elections, they cannot use the said power before the declaration of elections.

"After the declaration of elections, the entire domain would be open, but not till then," the judge held.

The single judge observed so while dealing with the petition filed by one Isthiyak Ahmed, who claimed that the Returning Officer and a Police Inspector visited his house on March 19, 2023, at about 11.20 am and seized 530 bags of rice weighing 25 Kgs each .

Though a notice was issued to the petitioner and the petitioner had submitted his justification on March 20, 2023, the rice bags were not returned to him, the petitioner submitted.

The contention raised by the counsel for the petitioner was that the petitioner, who is a prominent social worker involved in charitable activities, had been distributing rice and clothes on all festivals of the year like Ugadi, Ramzan, Dussehra, Christmas etc. to all the needy people in the area where he resides, and the said rice bags were there at his residence for the same purpose.

They could not have seized the rice as they had no jurisdiction to do so, the counsel argued.

On the other hand, the counsel for the Election Commission contended that the petitioner had hoarded the rice for distributing the same for the purpose of gaining votes in the election.

The single judge bench observed that when the said seizure took place, the elections for the Karnataka Legislative Assembly were yet to be notified, which were later declared on March 29, 2023.

Court further highlighted that the on the very next day of the said seizure, the petitioner had produced all the necessary bills for the purchase of rice bags from APMC yard and had also brought it to the notice of the respondents that he was doing this practice for the last 15 long years during all festivals of all religion.

Court emphasised that seizure is to be exercised by the authority/officers under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, under normal circumstances.

"The Returning Officer and the Inspector of Police, who have conducted the search in the case at hand were not vested with such authority and their action is, therefore, illegal," the court held.

Court, accordingly, issued a mandamus to the respondents to release the seized rice bags to the custody of the petitioner forthwith, with the rider that the petitioner shall abide by the conditions determined by the court.

Case Title: ISTHIYAK AHMED v. ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA and OTHERS