Kerala High Court stays case against Sivadasan Nair
The petitioner argued the case was cooked up by his opponents to gain political advantages.
KOCHI: Kerala High Court on Monday stayed for two months the criminal proceedings against former MLA K. Sivadasan Nair based on a complaint by former MLA Jameela Prakasam alleging her manhandling on the floor of the Assembly during the budget presentation by the then finance minister K.M. Mani.
Justice Sunil Thomas issued the interim order on a petition filed by Sivadasan Nair seeking to quash the criminal case pending before Thiruvananthapuram Judicial First Class Magistrate Court. The magistrate court had found that there was ground for proceeding against the accused persons for offences punishable under 341 (wrongful restraint) and 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of IPC.
The petitioner argued the case was cooked up by his opponents to gain political advantages. He argued that the complaint was in gross violation of the privilege of the House of Legislature and its members. The ruckus in the Assembly happened after the LDF protested against Mani presenting the budget in the wake of the bar owners’ allegations that he had sought bribe for opening closed bars.
Sivadasan Nair had claimed that Jameela Prakasam bit him while he was trying to protect the chief minister. But she alleged that Sivadasan had tried to physically abuse her.
