Plea in Supreme Court says arrests over PM Modi’s posters illegal

New Delhi, May 18: A Delhi based lawyer has filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking to quash over a dozen criminal cases lodged against people who had pasted posters in Delhi questioning Prime Minister, Narendra Modi over shortage of COVID-19 vaccines.

The petitioner, Pradeep Kumar Yadav urged the court to direct the commission of the Delhi police not to register further cases. He said that those arrested were daily wage workers who were hired to put up the posters.

"The petitioner is seeking the intervention of this court into the 24 arrests in Delhi over posters against the Prime Minister on the vaccination policy. At least 25 First Information Reports (FIR) have been registered in connection with posters that surfaced across the capital questioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the vaccination policy in a sarcastic tone," the petitioner said.

On Sunday AAP owned up to putting up posters in many parts of the city criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the shortage of Covid-19 vaccine, and said that its several workers were arrested and hundreds were being "harassed" by Delhi Police.

Senior AAP leader Durgesh Pathak said the police action will not deter the party and it will put up similar posters across the city and the country on a campaign mode.

"The AAP is behind these posters. I am behind the posters. Arrest me and our MLAs but do not harass poor people who paste posters for a meagre payment," Pathak said in a press conference.

Meanwhile, in a tweet AAP supremo and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said it was not a time to point fingers at each other and appealed to AAP volunteers to serve people devastated by Covid-19.

"Corona has wreaked havoc. People are very distressed. This is not the time to point fingers at one another but to support others. It's my appeal to every AAP volunteers to help people in their neighbourhood by all means. It's dharma and true patriotism at this time," Kejriwal tweeted in Hindi.

The Delhi Police has registered 25 FIRs and arrested as many people for allegedly pasting the posters, reading "Modiji humare bachhon ki vaccine videsh kyun bhej diya (PM why did you send vaccines meant for our children to foreign countries)", in several parts of the city amid the coronavirus-induced lockdown.

The FIRs were registered under sections 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code and other relevant sections, including section 3 of the Prevention of Defacement of Property Act, across various districts of the Delhi Police, officials had said.