The Delhi High Court on Monday asked sacked chairman of the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee Suresh Kalmadi to convince it why he should be allowed to attend the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament when he was facing prosecution in a criminal case and his bail application had been rejected.
Mr. Kalmadi is a Lok Sabha member from Pune and a prime accused in the CWG scam case.
Deferring the hearing on his revision petition against a Single Bench order dismissing his plea for permission to attend the current monsoon session of Parliament on Tuesday, a Division Bench of the High Court comprising Justices Dipak Misra and Sanjiv Khanna said it would not go into the attendance record of the MP in Parliament or his Constitutional right to attend Parliament sittings as submitted by him in support of his plea.
The Bench further said that it was unable to understand how he could be permitted to attend the Parliament sitting when the court did not think it fit to release him on bail.
Mr. Kalmadi is presently lodged in the Tihar Central Jail here after rejection of his bail application first by a special court and later by the Delhi High Court.
Earlier, counsel for Kalmadi had reiterated his argument before the Single Bench that attending Parliament session was the Constitutional right of his client as well as his privilege. He also cited the sincerity of Mr. Kalmadi in attending Parliament sessions over the years.
The Single Bench had dismissed the petition earlier this month, saying that allowing him to participate in the House proceedings would provide him a respite from imprisonment.
A fine of Rs.1 lakh was also imposed on him and he was asked to deposit the amount in the Prime Minister's Relief Fund.
“I see no reason to carve out an exception in favour of the petitioner when his fellow prisoners are not provided such relief,” Justice Endlaw had said in his order.
Additional Solicitor-General A.S. Chandhiok, appearing for the Ministry for Home Affairs as well the CBI, had separately opposed the petition.
The investigating agency had submitted that Mr. Kalmadi was trying to get bail indirectly.
The CBI arrested him on May 25 and charge-sheeted him and 10 others in the case.
