The Delhi High Court on Friday dismissed Congress MP Suresh Kalmadi's petition for permission to attend the monsoon session of Parliament.
Allowing him to take part in the proceedings would give him a respite from imprisonment, it said, imposing a fine of Rs. 1 lakh on him. Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw asked him to deposit the sum in the Prime Minister's Relief Fund.
Mr. Kalmadi, Pune MP and dismissed chairman of the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee, is lodged at the Tihar jail here after he was arrested by the CBI on May 25 in a case of criminal conspiracy to cheat the exchequer of huge amounts during the preparations for the Games held last October.
“I see no reason to carve out an exception in favour of the petitioner when his fellow prisoners are not provided with such relief,” Justice Endlaw said.
On the day the petition came up for hearing, the court revealed its mind, saying there was no urgency for Mr. Kalmadi to take part in the session as the government would not fall in his absence from the House.
Additional Solicitor-General A.S. Chandhiok, appearing for the Ministry for Home Affairs as well the Central Bureau of Investigation, had separately opposed the petition.
The CBI, which has charge-sheeted Mr. Kalmadi and 10 others, submitted that he was trying to get bail indirectly as the lower court had rejected his plea for regular bail.
Quoting Mr. Kalmadi's medical report, Mr. Chandhiok said he would not be able to contribute much to the debate in the House as he was suffering from neurological infraction and dementia.
Counsel for Mr. Kalmadi submitted that it was the right of his client, as a member of the Lok Sabha, to participate in its session.
However, the judge rejected the plea, saying: “The petitioner has not made out any case necessitating him to attend the current session.”
