New Delhi: The Madras High Court has set aside the breach of privilege proceedings initiated against DMK President M.K. Stalin and 18 other party MLAs for waving gutkha packets, banned in the state, on the floor of the Tamil Nadu Assembly in 2017.
The division bench of Chief Justice A.P. Sahi and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy passed the order while partly allowing the petitions moved by the legislators.
The then speaker had referred this matter to the privilege committee of the assembly. The privilege committee had initiated proceedings and issued show-cause notices to Stalin and 20 MLAs asking them why action should not be taken against them for the breach of privilege of the assembly.
The court has held that,
“the privilege committee is at liberty to reconsider the issue if it still feels that the act amounts to breach of privilege.”
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Challenging the proceeding, the 21 legislators moved the high court. The high court passed an interim order and stayed further proceedings in the issue. Two of the 21 MLAs died in the meantime.
After three days of continuous hearing the bench had reserved its order.
Read the judgment here;
Gutkha-case-verdict-Madras-HC-August-25– India Legal Bureau