Left Democratic Front (LDF) convener E.P. Jayarajan is likely to appear before the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Court, Thiruvananthapuram, on Monday in the Assembly ruckus case.
All the accused, except Mr. Jayarajan, had appeared before the CJM on September 15 for the court to frame charges against them. The accused including General Education Minister V. Sivankutty and K.T. Jaleel, MLA, had denied the charges read out by CJM R. Rekha.
The CJM had issued the ultimatum for Mr. Jayarajan to appear before the court on September 26 as the counsel for the CPI(M) leader had filed an application seeking exemption from appearance on health grounds. The court had also warned that it will be forced to issue a non-bailable warrant if the accused fails to appear before it on September 26.
Once Mr. Jayarajan appears before the court, the CJM will read out the charges against him and seek his views on it. In the event of the accused denying the charges, the court will fix the date for the examination of witnesses.
Damage to public property
Charges were framed against the accused, including former legislators K. Ajith, C.K. Sadasivan and K. Kunjahamad, for causing damage to the public property under the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act. They were also booked for trespass, causing mischief and acting with common intention under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code.
The prosecution case is that the accused unleashed chaos in the Assembly to prevent the then Finance Minister K.M. Mani from presenting the Budget. The LDF had protested against Mani for his alleged involvement in a bar bribery case. The case is that the exchequer suffered a pecuniary loss of ₹2.2 lakh following the protest.
