State General Education Minister V. Sivankutty and others will find their discharge petition in the Assembly ruckus case strongly opposed by the prosecution when the court considers the case on Monday.
The politically sensitive case will come up before the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, Thiruvananthapuram, as the Supreme Court had earlier rejected the State government’s plea to withdraw the prosecution in the case.
Enough grounds
The prosecution will strongly oppose the withdrawal petition as there are enough grounds and materials on record for objecting the petition. For a petition to be withdrawn, there should be valid grounds, which are absent in the present case, prosecution sources pointed out.
Left Democratic Front (LDF) leaders, including Mr. Sivankutty, K.T. Jaleel, MLA, and four others have been charged with offences under the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act besides various sections of the Indian Penal Code. The pecuniary loss the State sustained in the unruly events that unfolded on the floor of the Assembly on March 13, 2015, was estimated to be around ₹2.20 lakh. The LDF legislators, who were in the Opposition then, occupied the dais of the Speaker and damaged the properties on the dais in an attempt to prevent the then Finance Minister K.M. Mani from presenting the annual Budget.
In a warrant case, discharge can be considered only when the charge framed in the case was a groundless one. Here, there are enough grounds for sustaining the charge. Moreover, there should also be some material discrepancy or patent illegality on the grounds in which the case was booked or the charge should lack the necessary ingredients to attract the provisions of law. There is a solid case against the accused and hence the plea of withdrawal of petition cannot be considered, prosecution sources pointed out.
K. Balachandra Menon, Deputy Director of Prosecution (Thiruvananthapuram), is expected to be appear for the Prosecution to oppose the petition of the Minister and others as the Director General of Prosecution had issued an order asking Mr. Menon to appear in court.
No extension to be sought
The prosecution will not seek any extension of time and is ready to contest the case straight away, sources said.
The United Democratic Front had been campaigning for the resignation of the Minister since the apex court rejected the State’s plea to withdraw the prosecution in the case.
