Rita Bahuguna Joshi : A Lucknow court handed a six-month jail term and a Rs 1,100 fine to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Rita Bahuguna Joshi for breaching the code of conduct during the 2012 UP assembly elections. The current BJP MP from Prayagraj was found guilty of organizing a meeting on behalf of the Congress party, violating the code of conduct. Special Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Ambrish Kumar Srivastava delivered the verdict.
The prosecution presented evidence that on February 17, 2012, Joshi, then a Congress candidate for Lucknow Legislative Assembly Cantt constituency, campaigned in the Bajrang Nagar area of Krishna Nagar past the designated campaign hours. She allegedly addressed a public meeting even after the stipulated campaign time had ended.
#BigBreaking:BJP सांसद रीता बहुगुणा जोशी को छह महीने की सज़ा,
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आचार संहिता उल्लंघन के मामले में सज़ा.#RitaBahugunaJoshi pic.twitter.com/7GAwmEurRf
Upon discovering the violation, Static Surveillance Magistrate Mukesh Chaturvedi visited the spot and recorded Joshi holding a meeting with around 50 people in Bajrang Nagar. A report was filed at Krishna Nagar Police Station, leading to a police investigation and the subsequent filing of a charge sheet on September 12, 2012.
The court framed charges against Joshi on February 20, 2021, under section 188 of the Indian Penal Code. Following the sentencing, Joshi was taken into custody but later released on interim bail upon furnishing a bond of Rs 20,000 and surety.
Rita Bahuguna Joshi had switched allegiance from the Congress to the BJP ahead of the 2017 assembly elections.