After the HC, the Supreme Court has denied relief to the Kerala Govt and six CPI(M) legislators
Adding insult to injury’ is an old adage and could be seen everywhere in the daily narrative. This is what the Kerala Government has done to itself by challenging in the Supreme Court the High Court’s decision which had dismissed its petition seeking withdrawal of prosecution against six CPI(M) legislators for vandalism inside the House in 2015. The party members had tried to prevent then Finance Minister KM Mani from presenting the Budget for 2015-2016. Their contention was that it was improper for Mani, accused of accepting bribe in lieu of allowing opening of bars in the State, to present the Budget. In their bid to stop Mani, the legislators stalled the proceedings by attacking the Speaker’s podium, threw down his computer terminal, chair and public address system. V Sivankutty, the incumbent Education Minister, led the attacks and the incriminating images are beamed regularly on news channels in the State. Five more CPI(M) MLAs figure as accused along with Sivankutty in the case filed by the then Oommen Chandy-led Government. The case came up for hearing in the trial court in 2020 and the Pinarayi Vijayan Government decided to file a petition to withdraw the case. This was against the counsel given by the director general of prosecution.
The trial court and the High Court dismissed the plea and asked the accused to stand trial. But the Government, in its eagerness to save Sivankutty, chose to approach the apex court which on Wednesday dumped the plea and told the accused MLAs to stand trial. The argument put forward by the Government of Kerala was that the action of the members was protected by legislative privileges under Article 194 of the Constitution. “Privileges or immunity is not a gate to claim exemption from criminal law and that would be a betrayal to the citizens. Immunity of members from criminal law is for the purpose of enabling them to perform functions without hindrance, fear or favour,” Justices DY Chandrachud and MR Shah said in their ruling. Article 194 says that there shall be freedom of speech in the legislature and no member of the House shall be liable to any proceedings in any court in respect of anything said or any vote given by him in the House. Instead of allowing the law to take its own course, the CPI(M) and the Kerala Government, through this action, have created a mountain out of a molehill.