Order reserved in DMK MLAs’ plea challenging notice in gutkha row

Chennai

Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayanan, who had stayed the Privilege Committee notice in September, reserved orders after hearing arguments that prevailed for over two days. Earlier, a division bench had quashed the Speaker’s 2017 breach of privilege notice, citing foundational defects and that the act was meant to highlight widespread availability of the banned substance. Following this, a fresh notice was issued on the basis that the display of the packets was without the permission of the Speaker and besides disturbing the Assembly proceedings set a bad precedent. Counsels appearing for the DMK MLAs had contended that the gutkha ban was not seriously implemented and therefore it is their privilege to raise the issue to establish that the ban was an eyewash. Arguments also prevailed over the notice being issued to safeguard AIADMK’s majority in the Assembly since 18 AIADMK MLAs had withdrawn support to the Chief Minister around the same time reflecting malice and bias in the privilege notice issued.

In response, counsels appearing for the Assembly secretary and other respondents submitted that the earlier notice was set aside since the Speaker had referred to gutkha as “prohibited” for possession. Now, the defect has been removed and that the present notice issued was for the display of the substance and photographs without the Speaker’s permission and in turn disrupting the Assembly proceedings.