The Justice Verma Committee, which was formed to look into crimes against women ‘requested’ Chief Minister N.Kiran Kumar Reddy to dismiss a Minister in his Cabinet as a complaint was pending against him under the Representation of People Act, 1951.
Although the committee, in its report on ‘Amendments to Criminal Law’ released in New Delhi on Wednesday, did not name the Minister, it was apparently referring to Minister for Secondary Education K. Parthasarathy who is facing a case filed by the election authorities for failing to disclose a charge pending against him for committing an economic offence, in the affidavit he filed along with his nomination papers during the 2009 elections.
Case filed in 2012
A case was filed under Section 125 A of the Representation of People Act, 1951 against the Minister in September, 2012 for not revealing the fact that a case under Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) was pending against him. It is now under consideration of the First Metropolitan Magistrate, Vijayawada, according to Chief Electoral Officer Bhanwarlal.
The Justice Verma Committee, which was given a mandate to suggest legal reforms to deal with sexual assault cases in the wake of the gang-rape of the 23-year-old girl in Delhi on December 16, made a number of reforms in respect of the political establishment, more so amendments to the Representation of People Act, 1951.
In recommendation 19 (e), the committee said “a candidate who fails to disclose a charge or the commission of an offence should be disqualified subsequently.”
The committee went further and requested the Chief Minister to act against the Minister immediately if indeed he did not disclose the charge against him in the affidavit.
Meanwhile, sources close to the Chief Minister said they were not aware of any such request nor had the CMO received any formal communication from the Verma Committee seeking dismissal of any Minister.
“Moreover the matter is sub-judice,” they added.
