Court rejects discharge petition of Minister Sivankutty and others

R. Rekha, the CJM, asked Mr. Sivankutty and the other accused to appear before the court on November 22 for the court to frame the charges in the case

In a major political setback to the CPI (M) and the LDF, the discharge petition filed by the State Minister V. Sivankutty and five other LDF leaders in the Assembly ruckus case was dismissed by the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) court, Thiruvananthapruam on October 13.

R. Rekha, the CJM, asked Mr. Sivankutty and the other accused to appear before the court on November 22 for the court to frame the charges in the case. The charges against the accused will be read out on the day.

The grounds in which the petitions were dismissed will be known once the judgements are available. The court indicated that separate judgements would be there in the discharge petitions filed by the six accused in the case.

Former LDF Ministers E.P. Jayarajan and K.T. Jaleel, and former LDF legislators K. Ajith, K. Kunjahamad, and C. K. Sadasivan are the other accused in the case.

The prosecution’s case was that the accused trespassed onto the dais of the Speaker in the Legislative Assembly and caused damage to the public property including the electronic equipment and chair of the Speaker. The legislators caused pecuniary loss to the tune of ₹2.20 lakh on March 13, 2015, according to the prosecution.

The LDF legislators barged into the dais of the Speaker in an attempt to prevent the then Finance Minister K.M. Mani from presenting the annual budget. The legislators were booked under the provisions of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act for causing a loss of ₹2.20 lakh.

Though the court verdict in the sensational case may come as a setback to the ruling front, the option of challenging the verdict remains open before the accused. The accused can file revision petitions before the Sessions court or the Kerala High Court.

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