The Kerala High Court has quashed criminal proceedings against Congress leaders in the 2015 Legislative Assembly brawl case. The court found that complaints by LDF women MLAs did not prove intent to outrage modesty or wrongful restraint.

The Kerala High Court has quashed criminal proceedings against Congress leaders M A Vaheed, Dominic Presentation, K Sivadasan Nair, and A T George in connection with the 2015 Kerala Legislative Assembly brawl. The case stemmed from complaints filed by former Left Democratic Front (LDF) women legislators Jameela Prakasham and K K Lathika, who accused the UDF leaders of physical assault, wrongful restraint, and outraging their modesty during the chaotic Assembly session.

Court's Key Observations

The High Court observed that the complaints did not satisfy the essential ingredients required to prove an intention to outrage modesty (IPC Section 354) or wrongful restraint (IPC Section 341). The court noted that the UDF MLAs intervened to protect then-Finance Minister K M Mani so he could fulfil his constitutional duty of presenting the State Budget.

Justice PV Kunhikrishnan emphasised that while members of the Assembly have the right to conduct peaceful and democratic protests, no member has the right to physically block a Finance Minister from delivering the budget, regardless of any corruption allegations against him at the time.

Background of the 2015 Assembly Brawl

The incident took place on March 13, 2015, when the then-opposition LDF protested inside the Keralam legislative assembly hall against then Finance Minister K M Mani, who was facing allegations in the bar bribery scam, for presenting the budget. Unprecedented scenes of violence broke out on the floor of the House, resulting in damaged electronic equipment, microphoned desks, and the Speaker's chair being thrown from the podium.

Counter-complaints were subsequently filed by LDF women MLAs alleging assault by UDF treasury bench members who tried to shield the Finance Minister. With the High Court's latest verdict, all criminal proceedings arising from these specific assault complaints against the former UDF MLAs stand quashed.

The case pertains to a protest by the MLAs who had barged onto the Speaker's podium and destroyed computers and chairs. The LDF had created a ruckus trying to stop the speech of then Keralam Finance Minister K M Mani of the UDF government, who they alleged had taken a bribe for granting bar licences. (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianetnews Editorial staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)