Earlier today in day Supreme Court on Wednesday said that few members of Kerala’s ruling CPM which includes V Sivankutty, the Education and Labour Minister, and KT Jaleel, the former Higher Education Minister – will face trial in a case relating to damage of furniture during protests in the state Assembly in 2015.
To rectify the trial a two-judge bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and MR Shah was arranged on Wednesday delivered a verdict and said, “MPs and MLAs have to subscribe and bear true faith to the Constitution of India… Committing acts of destroying public property cannot be equated to freedom of speech. Legislators’ privilege and immunity is not a gate to claim exemption from criminal law.”
The court also added that “There is no merit in the Kerala government’s appeals.”
The verdict also added that the top court was unconvinced by the behaviour and slammed the legislators’ behaviour, commenting that they should be held accountable for the unruly and violent acts in the House.
The court also asked that, “What message are you sending to the public whom you represent? If they are not held accountable for their unruly and violent acts, there will be no deterrence to this kind of behaviour.”
The Kerala government had approached the Supreme Court after the High Court also declined to withdraw the cases.
Mr Sivankutty, Mr Jaleel and the other four ex-MLAs who were all in the opposition at the time – broke furniture and microphones during horrific scenes in the Assembly.
Besides all this, the Speaker’s chair from the podium, computers on the desk of the presiding officer were also brutally damaged.
