In one of the rarest incidents in Karnataka, Assembly Speaker KB Koliwad on Wednesday sentenced two senior scribes of Kannada tabloids to a year in jail for writing defamatory articles against legislators. The speaker also slapped a fine of Rs10,000 each, failing which they will have to serve an additional six months in prison.
Noted journalist and writer Ravi Belagere, who heads the Hi Bengaluru, a popular Kannada tabloid published from Bengaluru and Anil Raju, editor of Yelahanka Voice are the two scribes facing the wrath of the Karnataka Assembly.
“The State Assembly has decided to punish the two journalists of Kannada tabloids for publishing defamatory articles against legislators,” Koliwad announced on the floor of the House in Bengaluru.
“I approve the recommendation of the privilege committee which had recommended a year’s imprisonment and a fine of Rs10,000 on Hi Bangalore and Yelahanka Voice editors," the Speaker said.
The Privilege Committee of the Assembly had recommended jail for Belagere and Anil Raju for publishing articles against legislators, including Koliwad. The article against Koliwad was published in the September 2014 issue of Hi Bangalore.
It was former Speaker Kagodu Thimmappa, now Revenue Minister in the Siddaramaiah Cabinet, referred the issue to the Privilege Committee after Koliwad had lodged a complaint against Belagere. The committee, which investigated the complaint, recommended imposition of a year of imprisonment on Belagere in addition to a fine of Rs10,000. During the consideration of the committee’s recommendations, legislators from all parties supported the recommendation and urged the chair to implement the same. As the House approved the recommendation, Koliwad announced his decision.
Editor of Yelahanka Voice newspaper, Anil Raj, was alleged to have published a series of defamatory reports against Yelahanka MlA, SR Vishwanath of the BJP. Therefore he faced complaint about breach of privilege.
In the case of Anil Raj, MlA Vishwanath requested the House to uphold this recommendation. He said that editors of some publications have been in the habit of publishing unsubstantiated reports which compromise the dignity of the House. Government’s chief whip, Ashok Pattana and other members supported this demand. The Speaker, after getting the nod of the members, announced the decision to impose punishment as recommended.
Congress and BJP MlAs, BM Nagaraju and SR Viswanath raised the issue in the House and recommended action against the journalists.
Nagaraju alleged that Belagare, in spite of being summoned by the committee, was not present for the hearing. However, legal experts said the journalists can challenge the sentence in the court.
Article 194 of the Indian Constitution provides privileges to the state legislature, its members and committees, while Article 105 covers the same for Parliament and its members. While the Constitution provides privileges such as freedom of speech in State legislature/Parliament, immunity to proceedings in court for anything said in the legislature/ Parliament, the House also has the power to punish.
This is not the first time that the Speaker has passed such a ruling. In 1992, editor Tarun Bharat was summoned and reprimanded for his article against the House. However, no punitive action was taken against his publication.
Similar incidents have happened in Tamil Nadu too. In April 1987, Tamil weekly editor S Balasubramanian was sentenced to three months' rigorous imprisonment for a cartoon. The cartoon mocked a member of the legislative Assembly and a Minister. Prior to that, the Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker had sentenced the editor of Tamil traders’ journal Vaniga Otrumai, AM Paulraj, to two weeks’ imprisonment for an allegedly derogatory piece in July 1985.