MUZAFFARPUR: Dr. Rajbhushan Chaudhary, a Union Minister of State in the Narendra Modi government and Member of Parliament from Muzaffarpur, has surrendered before a special MP-MLA court and subsequently been granted bail in connection with a 2019 case alleging a breach of voting confidentiality.
The case stems from a First Information Report (FIR) lodged by the Assistant Electoral Officer of the Musahri block on May 6, 2019, during the Lok Sabha elections. Chaudhary, then a candidate for the Vikashsheel Insaan Party (VIP), was accused of posting a photograph of the ballot unit and the Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slip on his social media account. Officials contended that this action violated the secrecy of voting and could unfairly influence voters.
The FIR was registered at the Muzaffarpur Nagar Police Station under IPC Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), Section 128 of the Representation of the People Act (maintaining secrecy of voting), and Section 66E of the Information Technology Act (violation of privacy).
At the time of the alleged incident in 2019, Chaudhary contested from Muzaffarpur on a VIP ticket, losing to the BJP’s Ajay Nishad. He later joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and successfully won the Muzaffarpur Lok Sabha seat in the recent 2024 general elections. His victory led to his appointment as a Union Minister of State.
Chaudhary, who currently serves as the Minister of State in the Ministry of Jal Shakti, appeared before the court, which granted him bail upon furnishing two bail bonds of 10,000 rupees each.
Further preventive action was also taken against Chaudhary in 2019, with him signing a bond under Section 107/116 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), committing to maintain peace and public order during the election period.
