LUCKNOW — A notice has been issued to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) by a district court in Uttar Pradesh after Prime Minister Narendra Modi wore the Indian Army uniform during his visit to Kashmir last year while interacting with Army personnel.
The notice was issued to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) after a plea was filed in the Prayagraj district court in UP, stating that Modi wearing the uniform was illegal under Section 140 of the Indian Penal Code, and should be termed as a punishable offence.
Section 140 of the Indian Penal Code states that wearing garb or carrying tokens used by soldiers, sailors or airmen is an offence punishable.
As per Dainik Bhaskar reports, district judge Nalin Kumar Srivastava issued a notice to the PMO as well as Advocate Rakesh Nath Pandey, who had moved the application under section 156(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (which empowers Magistrate to order an investigation into a cognizable offence).
The plea has been filed by Pandey before a district judge, and now the matter will be heard by the court on March 2.
It may be pointed out that Pandey had earlier filed a plea in December last year, however, the chief judicial magistrate Harendra Nath had rejected it saying that the incident happened outside the jurisdiction of the court and the matter can be heard by a magistrate having jurisdiction.
The order was challenged by Pandey before the district judge who has now issued notice to the Prime Minister’s Office.
Last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited the Nowshera sector in Jammu and Kashmir to celebrate Diwali with soldiers and Indian Army personnel. — (Agencies)