Kochi | The Kerala High Court on Friday quashed the criminal proceedings against three Congress leaders, including two sitting MLAs, who were accused of wrongfully restraining and outraging the modesty of two then LDF MLAs amidst the ruckus in the state assembly in 2015.
The ruckus occurred in the state assembly on March 13, 2015 as the LDF MLAs tried to obstruct the then state Finance Minister K M Mani from presenting the budget and demanded his resignation over corruption allegations against him.
Then Congress MLAs K Sivadhasan Nair, Dominic Presentation and M A Vaheed were accused by then LDF MLAs K K Lathika and Jameela Prakasham of wrongfully restraining them and outraging their modesty while they were protesting against Mani presenting the budget.
Justice P V Kunhikrishnan quashed the cases against the three Congress leaders on the ground that the complaints and the statements recorded at the pre-cognisance stage "would not attract the offences under sections 341 (wrongful restraint) or 354 (outraging modesty of women) of the IPC".
While quashing the cases, the court also said that the magisterial court order taking cognisance of the offences under the two sections was "illegal".
Citing reasons for its decision, the HC said that while there can be a protest in a democratic manner in the assembly against the presentation of the budget by the state Finance Minister, he cannot be obstructed from doing so as it is his constitutional duty.
"There is no law to the effect that, a finance minister against whom a case is registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act cannot present a budget in the Legislative assembly. But the minister can decide himself whether his conscience permits for the same," it said.
Therefore, the complainant-LDF women leaders had no right to proceed in the direction from which the minister was coming and obstruct him from presenting the budget and if the Congress leaders prevented them from doing so, the offence of wrongful restraint was not attracted, it said.
"The intention of the petitioners (Congress leaders) in all these cases is to see that the complainants in these cases are not obstructing the then Finance Minister from presenting the budget in the assembly," the High Court said.
The High Court further said that while there was a prima facie case in the complaints that the petitioners assaulted and used force on the complainants, who are women, their intention was only to ensure the Finance Minister can present the budget.
"I am of the considered opinion that, even if there is assault or use of force from the side of the petitioners towards the complainants, the offence under Section 354 IPC is not made out.
"In such situation, it cannot be said that there is an intention to outrage the modesty, but the intention is to see that the Finance Minister present the budget, which is his constitutional duty," Justice Kunhikrishnan said.
The judge was of the considered opinion that the complaints in these cases do not disclose the essential ingredients of the offences which are alleged against the accused.
"In such circumstances, this court is justified in quashing the proceedings..," the judge said.
The order came on the pleas by ex-MLA Nair and sitting MLAs Presentation and Vaheed challenging the magisterial court's 2015 order taking cognisance for the offences under sections 341 and 354 of the IPC.