Delhi Police has decided to crack the whip on licenced and unlicenced printing presses from publishing pamphlets, handbills and posters, especially during the run up to the Delhi Assembly elections.
Orders have been issued to all owners of printing presses to stop publishing material that may endanger free and fair conduct of polls. All districts have been asked by police headquarters to ensure that the activities in all the printing presses are halted forthwith and must remain so for the next 60 days. The orders to ban unauthorised printing of election material has come after the Chief Electoral Office (CEO) of Delhi found
illegal printing activities in many printing presses in gross violation of the model code of conduct (MCC).
“Any person who contravenes orders shall be liable to be punished in accordance with the provisions of the Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC),” the order states.
Delhi Police spokesperson Rajan Bhagat said that it has come to their notice that scores of printing presses, both licenced/unlicenced, are involved in printing work that includes election material.
These materials were found to be in contravention of the existing law, that too when MCC is in force in the Capital. Orders have been issued by
the respective Assistant Commissioners of Police (ACPs) banning such printing activities that violate the prevailing law of the land and other instructions issued by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
All the owners/managers/operators of printing presses have been ordered to abide by the directives and must not print any material in violation of the provisions of the Press and Book Registration Act, 1867 and other related laws and rules, Bhagat added.
There have been few instances where owners of printing presses were found indulging in illegal printing of the election related material. The SDM, Saraswati Vihar, who is also the Returning Officer (RO) of the
Sultanpuri Assembly seat, had raided Naresh Art and Graphic Flex Boards. Owner of the said unit, Naresh Sharma, was found to be running the printing press without licence and was printing political banners in violation of Section 127A of the Representation of People (RP) Act, 1951.
Similar raid was conducted by the SDM, Model Town, who is the RO of Badli Assembly seat. Yogesh Tripathi, the owner of Maheshwari Press in Badli, was also found involved in the illegal printing of election material.
The FIRs were lodged accordingly at Sultanpuri and Samaipur Badli Police Stations respectively.The RO of Najafgarh Assembly seat on Tuesday issued notice to Rajesh Gehlot, Chairman Standing Committee, South MCD, for violating the MCC. An FIR was also lodged against the owner of a printing press at Najafgarh Police Station for violating Section 127A of the RP Act, 1951.