EC's response to Kejri's plea, challenging its order, sought

A notice was sent to the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday, seeking its response on a plea filed by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, who challenged the ECI order to lodge an FIR against him on charges of bribery during the Goa Assembly polls.

Justice Indermeet Kaur sought the reply on the petition, which alleged that the CM's right to free speech was being curtailed due to the ECI order, passed on January 29. While listing the matter for February 2 next year, the court said Kejriwal had approached the court very late.

During the proceedings, the counsel appearing for the poll panel said the FIR was registered on January 30, as per the EC directions.

The incident allegedly took place during campaigning for the Goa Assembly elections. In a series of rallies between January 7-8, Kejriwal appealed to the voters to "accept money from Congress and BJP candidates, but vote for Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)".

Following this, Satish Upadhayay, former president of Delhi BJP, registered a complaint to the EC, accusing the CM of violation of Model Code of Conduct. Thereafter, the poll panel directed that a complaint be lodged against the AAP leader, under the provisions of the Representation of the People Act, dealing with bribing voters, and relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

In the plea, Kejriwal said the statements made by him were largely misinterpreted. He also said the EC's direction was like a gag order against him.

Earlier, the Commission had censured Kejriwal for violating the provisions of the Model Code of Conduct, he said.

"The order infringes upon the Petitioner's Fundamental Right of speech and expression, as promised under Article 19 of the Indian Constitution. The petitioner, being a political activist, censuring him made him incur a huge setback because of his inability to take part in political rallies and thereby hindering his bonafide activism towards a bribe-free and corruption-free society," the petition said.