High court rejects plea against Delhi minister

NEW DELHI - The Delhi High Court has rejected a plea to invoke an additional charge of cheating against a Delhi minister — and Congress legislator –summoned by a magistrate to stand trial for concealing facts in an affidavit filed by him ahead of the 2008 polls.

The legislator in his affidavit given to the returning officer allegedly withheld the information that he was facing proceedings in a defamation case.

The high court dismissed the plea against Ballimaran legislator Haroon Yusuf saying no victim of the alleged cheating had come forward to depose that he had cast his vote in favour of the legislator on the basis of the affidavit.

Yusuf is a minister in Delhi government and is incharge of the food and supplies and industries departments.

“In order to attract Section 420 (cheating charges under the Indian Penal Code) IPC, it is necessary that there should be a victim of cheating who has been fraudulently or dishonestly induced to deliver any property,” Justice S.N. Dhingra said.

“In the absence of a victim of the cheating, who has been dishonestly induced to cast the vote or to deliver any other property or valuable security, summoning under section 415/420 (cheating) of the IPC could not have been done by the trial court,” the court said.

The court dismissed the petition of Naved Yar Khan, contending that the lower court which had summoned the legislator for filing an allegedly wrong affidavit, erred in not invoking the charges of cheating against him.

The lower court summoned Yusuf to face charges of knowingly furnishing false information and giving or fabricating false evidence in a judicial proceedings for allegedly suppressing information from the returning officer.

While filing his nomination papers, Yusuf allegedly deposed that no criminal case was pending against him on which cognizance was taken by a court.