Akasa Air co-founder Aditya Ghosh was reportedly arrested in Rishikesh on May 20 for allegedly carrying 50 bottles of liquor amidst the ongoing Lok Sabha Election, as per some reports. The Model Code of Conduct that has been in place across the country since the announcement of the election on March 16, law enforcement agencies are on high alert for movement of cash, liquor, jewellery and other items that could influence voters.
In March, the Tamil Nadu Police seized Rs 69,400 from some tourists. The money was later returned to the couple, but the incident brought to light the EC’s stringent measures on carrying cash or any such items during the elections.
What are the Rules for Carrying Cash and Liquor?
As per the EC rules, the CISF or police authorities at airports are supposed to report to the Income Tax department about any person carrying cash worth more than Rs 10 lakh, or more than 1 kg in gold. The I-T department will then do a verification as per its laws and take necessary action if the explanation of the person in question is not satisfactory.
Cash or gold can be seized till verification is completed in order to ensure that the item is not related to any political party or candidate.
“If cash of more than Rs 10 lakh is found in a vehicle, and there is no suspicion of commission of any crime or linkage to any candidate, agent or party functionary, then the static surveillance teams (SSTs) shall not seize the cash, and [simply] pass on the information to the Income-Tax authority, for necessary action under Income Tax Laws,” the EC said.
As per the rules, the election campaign expenditure has been capped at Rs 95 lakh per constituency in bigger states, and Rs 75 lakh per constituency in smaller states.
“After seizure, the seized amount shall be deposited in such manner as directed by the Court and a copy of seizure of cash, in excess of Rs 10 lakh shall be forwarded to the Income Tax authority, engaged for the purpose,” the EC says.
If a vehicle carrying a candidate, or his/her agent or party worker is found with more than Rs 50,000 in cash or drugs, liquor, arms, or gift items worth over Rs 10,000, then the items will be seized. If during checking, there is any suspicion of a crime, the seizure will be done under the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and an FIR will be filed within 24 hours.
In case of liquor, excise laws of the respective state are applied. For instance, some states allow two bottles of sealed alcohol to be carried in.
How EC Maintains Strict Vigil
The EC appoints expenditure observers for every district, alongside SST and flying squads, which comprise a Senior Executive Magistrate as the head, a senior police officer, a videographer, and three or four armed police personnel. According to the EC, the teams are provided with a vehicle, a mobile phone, a video camera, and necessary documents required for seizing cash or goods.
The teams put up checkposts on roads, videographing the area, and keep changing their location to make a surprise visit on any route.
While checkposts are usually supposed to be set up from the date of announcement of polls, the final 72 hours before polling will see enhanced enforcement.
How Much Seizure This Election Season
Cash, drugs, liquor and freebies worth Rs 8,889 crore have been seized so far since March as per the EC. Gujarat has topped the list accounting for Rs 1,461 crore worth of items seized, followed by Rajasthan at Rs 1,133 crore, Maharashtra at Rs 685 crore and Delhi and Karnataka at Rs 653 crore and Rs 554 crore respectively.
Drug accounted for 45% of the total seizures.
The highest cash haul was in Telangana (Rs 114.41 crore) followed by Karnataka Rs 92.55 crore, Delhi Rs 90.79 crore and Andhra Pradesh Rs 85.32 crore.
Karnataka topped the list of liquor seizure with authorities seizing 1.47 crore litres worth Rs 175.36 crore. In Telangana, 30 lakh litres worth Rs 76.26 crore were seized.
In precious metals category, Delhi topped the list with Rs 195.01 crore followed by Maharashtra Rs 188.18 crore. Karnataka recorded such seizures, which were valued at Rs 94.66 crore.