Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 22 (IANS): A city court on Tuesday dismissed a Kerala government plea to withdraw a 2015 case registered against six sitting legislators at that time on the charge of vandalism in the Assembly and directed them to personally appear in court on October 15.
Those directed to appear in the Chief Judicial Magistrate's court are present Industries Minister EP Jayarajan and Higher Education Minister KT Jaleel and four others -- V Sivankutty, K Kunju Ahamed, CK Sadasivan and K Ajith -- who are no more members of the House.
After Sivankutty wrote to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, the government decided to seek withdrawal of the case, even though a Crime Branch probe had allegedly found wrongdoing on the part of the then Left lawmakers.
Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala too had become a party in the petition to withdraw the case, maintaining that it should not be done as public property was destroyed by responsible persons.
The accused had allegedly indulged in vandalism on March 13, 2015, when then Kerala Finance Minister KM Mani was presenting the state Budget.
The3 then Opposition led by the Communist Party of India-Marxist had protested that Mani -- accused of taking Rs one crore in bribe from a bar owner for reopening bars in Kerala -- would not be allowed to present the Budget.
When Mani began his speech, the Left legislators went berserk, throwing the Speaker's chair from the dais and damaging electronic equipment installed on his table.
After the incident, then Speaker N Sakthan had sought a Crime Branch probe that blamed the six accused for the Assembly ruckus.