Kerala Assembly ruckus case: Draft chargesheet lists out role of Minister Sivankutty and others

It says the accused illegally stayed on the Speaker’s dais with the intention of disrupting the Assembly proceedings on March 13, 2015 and to prevent then State Finance Minister K. M. Mani from presenting the annual Budget.

August 03, 2021 12:46 pm | Updated 12:46 pm IST - KOCHI:

Police removing ABVP protestors who were demanding the resignation of Kerala Education Minister V. Sivankutty, in Palakkad. File photo

Police removing ABVP protestors who were demanding the resignation of Kerala Education Minister V. Sivankutty, in Palakkad. File photo

The draft chargesheet filed in the Kerala Legislative Assembly ruckus case has accused State Minister V. Sivankutty of removing the electronic panel board from the dais of the Speaker and damaging it.

The role of all the six accused in the case was detailed in the draft chargesheet, which was filed by a Deputy Superintendent of Police before the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Court, Thiruvananthapuram, following the unruly incidents that took place on the floor of the House on March 13, 2015.

The charges levelled against the accused attains significance as the CJM is all set to consider the discharge petition filed by them shortly

According to the draft chargesheet, all the accused illegally stayed on the dais of the Speaker with the intention of disrupting the Assembly proceedings on the day and to prevent the then State Finance Minister K.M. Mani from presenting the annual Budget.

While K. Ajith, the then Vaikkom MLA, and also the first accused, destroyed the emergency lamp on the dais, the Perambra representative and the second accused, Kunjamad Master, pulled out the computer monitor and damaged it. E.P. Jayarajan, the third accused, who represented Mattannor Assembly Constituency, and K. T. Jaleel, MLA, the sixth accused, pushed the chair of the Speaker from the dais to the floor of the House and damaged it in the process. Fourth accused C. K. Sadasivan, who had represented the Kayamkulam Assembly constituency during the period, broke the standby mike on the dais, according to the chargesheet.

The police have also submitted the list of around 40 witnesses and the material objects collected in the case.

The accused will have to face the trial if the trial court does not rule in their favour in their discharge petition. Besides the provisions of the Indian Penal Code, the police have invoked the Prevention of Damage of Public Property Act against the accused as the State suffered a loss of ₹ 2.20 lakh.

The Opposition has been turning the heat on the government on the issue. They have sought the resignation of the Minister since the Supreme Court rejected the State government's appeal against the CJM's order in the case. The CJM had earlier rejected the State government's plea to withdraw prosecution against the legislators. However, the Left Democratic Front and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan threw their weight behind the Minister and turned down the Opposition demand for his resignation.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala, MLA, has demanded the appointment of a Special Prosecutor in the case.

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