Kerala HC Quashes Criminal Proceedings Against Former Congress MLAs Over 2015 Assembly Ruckus

The case arose from a tumultuous session in the Kerala Legislative Assembly on March 13, 2015, where opposition leaders attempted to block then-Finance Minister KM Mani from presenting the State Budget. The opposition's action was driven by allegations of Mani’s involvement in a bar bribery scandal.

During this session, the Congress MLAs were accused of assaulting and unlawfully restraining some of the protesting opposition members, who were trying to prevent the Budget presentation. The complaints were filed by KK Lathika, Jameela Prakasham, and other MLAs from the Left Democratic Front (LDF), who alleged that the Congress MLAs used physical force to obstruct their protest.

A Bench of Justice PV Kunhikrishnan concluded that the actions of the Congress MLAs, while forceful, were aimed at enabling the Finance Minister to fulfill his constitutional duty of presenting the Budget. The Court noted that the intent behind their actions was not to commit any offense but to ensure the constitutional process was not obstructed.

The Court remarked, “presenting budget in assembly is a constitutional duty of the finance minister. None has a right to obstruct him. Therefore, I am of the considered opinion that even if the petitioners obstruct the complainant from proceeding in the direction in which the Minister is coming to present the Budget, the complainant has no right to proceed in that way, because the Finance Minister is doing his constitutional duty.”

Senior Advocate George Poonthottam appeared for the Petitioner and Advocate M Rajagopalan Nair appeared for the Respondents.

The Court emphasized that while protests can occur, they must not prevent the Finance Minister from performing his constitutional duties. The Court said, “I am of the considered opinion that there can be protest in a democratic manner even in the assembly against the presentation of budget by the Finance minister. But there cannot be any obstruction from the side of the 1st respondent in presenting a Budget in a State Assembly by a Finance Minister. That is a constitutional duty of the Finance Minister. There is no law to the effect that, a finance minister against whom a case is registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act cannot present a budget in the Legislative assembly.”

The Court found that, despite the use of force, it was intended to ensure the orderly presentation of the Budget rather than to harm or degrade the complainants.

Consequently, the High Court quashed the criminal proceedings against the former MLAs.

Cause Title: M.A. Vaheed v. K.K. Lathika & Anr., [2024:KER:69787]

Appearance:

Petitioners: MA Vaheed was represented by Senior Advocate George Poonthottam, while Dominic Presentation and K Sivadasan Nair were represented by Senior Advocate S. Sreekumar, with assistance from advocates Arun B. Varghese and Joseph P. Alex.

Respondents: KK Lathika was represented by Advocate M Rajagopalan Nair, and Jameela Prakasham was represented by Advocate Gilbert George Correya. The State was represented by Public Prosecutor Sangeetharaj N.R.