In Brief
During a 1989 Lok Sabha election, BJP worker Rajiv Ranjan Tiwari was beaten by members of a rival village who sought voter lists to facilitate bogus voting. Multiple injuries occurred, including gunshot wounds. The trial court and High Court convicted eight appellants under Sections 323 and 147 IPC (voluntarily causing hurt and rioting), sentencing them to six months imprisonment each. The Supreme Court upheld the conviction, holding that injured eyewitness testimony is highly reliable and needs strong grounds for rejection. For rioting, every member of an unlawful assembly is liable, even without direct use of force. The Court emphasized that free and fair elections are constitutional pillars; booth capturing and bogus voting undermine democracy and must be severely punished.
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