In a setback for Kerala’s Congress Chief Minister Oommen Chandy in the defamation case he himself had filed against Opposition leader VS Achuthanandan over some of the latter’s poll-related allegations, a court in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday warned against turning it into a playground of politicians.
The Additional District and Sessions Court, Thiruvana-nthapuram also refused to grant Chandy’s prayer for orders to prevent Achuthanandan from making statements containing “baseless allegations” against him and his Cabinet colleagues. Despite objections from Chandy’s counsel, the court granted the Opposition leader’s plea for time to submit a counter-affidavit.
The Chief Minister had taken the political battle related to the May 16 Assembly election to the court on Thursday by filing a `1-lakh defamation case against the nonagenarian Opposition leader over his allegation that Chandy was an accused in 31 corruption cases and there were a total of 136 corruption cases against the members of the Congress-led UDF Cabinet.
That it could be a day of setbacks for Chandy in the court was obvious at the very start of the preliminary arguments in the case on Friday morning itself when the judge asked the Chief Minister’s counsel, who was also the Government’s pleader in the district, whether he was appearing as a Government lawyer or as a private counsel.
The district pleader, who replied that he was appearing for Chandy as a private lawyer, argued that the allegations leveled by Achuthanandan against the Chief Minister were totally baseless and prayed that the Opposition leader be made to pay `100,000 as fine for making such statements.
However, Cherunniyur Sasidharan Nair, lawyer for Achuthanandan, submitted that his client still stood firm in the allegations he had raised on April 21. “The court was informed that the allegations leveled by the Opposition leader were based on information contained in documents received through provisions of the RTI Act,” Sasidharan Nair told newsmen later.
The lawyer also told the court that they had examined the official website of the lok Ayukta even on Friday morning and that there were 12 cases pending against the Chief Minister according to it. The court granted Achuthanandan’s plea for more time for submitting a counter-affidavit.
But the Chief Minister’s counsel sought urgent intervention of the court in the matter as Achuthanandan was making baseless allegations intended at character assassination in the context of the Assembly election. It was at this point that the court issued the warning against efforts to turn it into a politicians’ playground.
In his speech at an election meeting of the CPI(M)-led lDF on April 21 at Dharmadom in Kannur district where the left’s candidate is CPI(M)’s Politbureau member Pinarayi Vijayan, Achuthanandan had attacked the UDF and the Chief Minister in his characteristic style by alleging that Chandy was corrupt personally and that he was presiding over a corrupt Cabinet.
“Who is the most corrupt leader in KeralaIJ Oommen Chandy! How many corruption cases are there against himIJ Thirty-one... There are a total of 136 corruption cases against the Ministers in the UDF Cabinet” Achuthanandan had said. It was in the name of this statement that the chief Minister had filed the defamation case against the Opposition leader.
At the same time, Chandy said after filing his nomination for candidature for the Assembly elections at Pambady in Kottayam district said that he had submitted an affidavit along with it in which he had clearly stated that there were no cases against him. “This proves that I am facing no cases. What other proof does Achuthanandan wantIJ” he asked.
But Achuthanandan hit back at the Chief Minister through a Facebook post by saying, “Chandy has entered into the wrong boxing arena.” More than upholding his own pride, Chandy had asked the court to gag me and it rejected his prayer outright, said Achuthanandan in the post. “Come back to the poll arena instead of trying to hide,” he told Chandy through the Facebook post.
