High Court order today on fresh notice in gutkha case

Chennai

Justice Pushpa Satyanarayana before whom arguments prevailed on Tuesday reserved orders amid Advocate General Vijay Narayan appearing for the State objecting to grant of any interim stay as the Committee of Privileges has given time till Oct 24 for the MLAs to reply. While refuting that the DMK counsel’s contention that the notice was malafide and that no fresh reference has been made to the privilege committee over the matter, the Advocate General argued that the jurisdictional error referred to by the first bench while quashing the first privilege committee notice has now been cured as the only issue was that the notice was wrongly worded by laying stress that banned substance was displayed in the Assembly.

He also contended that the issue has to be decided with reference to the MLA’s conduct which included display without permission of the Speaker, disturbance to assembly proceedings and causing disorder, disrepute to the Assembly.

The Advocate General also contended that it is open to the petitioners to raise objections before the Privilege Committee, but they have not participated in any of the Committee proceedings, save for seeking an adjournment.

However, Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayna observed in the passing that the first error is then committed by you for not raising this objection in the earlier notice, which meant that they had already given up on the issue now raised.

She also made it known that if it finds that a prima facie case is made out by the petitioners’, it may pass a stay.