HC reserves judgement in EC's contempt case
The Bombay High Court reserved judgement on a petition filed by state election commissioner Nand Lal against the jail term awarded to him.
By PTI |
MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Thursday reserved judgement on a petition filed by state election commissioner Nand Lal against the jail term awarded to him by the state legislature���s privilege committee for contempt.
A division bench of Justices RMS Khandeparkar and Amjed Sayed is likely to pronounce the judgement on August 13.
Nand Lal was held guilty by the privilege committee in March this year for not appearing before it with regard to a breach of privilege motion moved against him by Congress MLA Janardan Chandurkar. Mr Lal had refused to appear before the committee, but sent a written reply. However, the committee held him guilty of contempt for not appearing, and sentenced him to two days��� civil imprisonment.
Mr Lal later moved the high court, challenging the legality of the sentence. His lawyer Shrihari Aney argued that though the court cannot go into the merit of the privilege committee���s decision, it can examine whether the procedure adopted by committee was legal.
According to Mr Aney, the committee should have given Mr Lal a show-cause notice when it decided to punish him. The state assembly has not been represented by anybody in this case, as it resolved not to entertain any notice from the high court in this case.
But senior lawyer Rafiq Dada, who assisted the court as an ���amicus curiae��� (friend of the court), pointed out that from the outset, Mr Lal had not responded to the committee���s summons. He had been asked by the committee to appear before it and defend himself on charges of breach of privilege three times, but did not appear, Mr Dada said.
Nand Lal had earlier crossed swords with chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh over the delimitation of Deshmukh���s Latur constituency.
His petition alleges vendetta by Deshmukh as a reason for action against him.
A division bench of Justices RMS Khandeparkar and Amjed Sayed is likely to pronounce the judgement on August 13.
Nand Lal was held guilty by the privilege committee in March this year for not appearing before it with regard to a breach of privilege motion moved against him by Congress MLA Janardan Chandurkar. Mr Lal had refused to appear before the committee, but sent a written reply. However, the committee held him guilty of contempt for not appearing, and sentenced him to two days��� civil imprisonment.
Mr Lal later moved the high court, challenging the legality of the sentence. His lawyer Shrihari Aney argued that though the court cannot go into the merit of the privilege committee���s decision, it can examine whether the procedure adopted by committee was legal.
According to Mr Aney, the committee should have given Mr Lal a show-cause notice when it decided to punish him. The state assembly has not been represented by anybody in this case, as it resolved not to entertain any notice from the high court in this case.
But senior lawyer Rafiq Dada, who assisted the court as an ���amicus curiae��� (friend of the court), pointed out that from the outset, Mr Lal had not responded to the committee���s summons. He had been asked by the committee to appear before it and defend himself on charges of breach of privilege three times, but did not appear, Mr Dada said.
ADVERTISEMENT
The breach of privilege notice was moved against Nand Lal following his notification that state government can not conduct elections to the local bodies as it was the EC���s prerogative. Nand Lal had earlier crossed swords with chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh over the delimitation of Deshmukh���s Latur constituency.
His petition alleges vendetta by Deshmukh as a reason for action against him.
Download
The Economic Times Business News App for the Latest News in Business, Sensex, Stock Market Updates & More.
The Economic Times Business News App for the Latest News in Business, Sensex, Stock Market Updates & More.
Download
The Economic Times News App for Quarterly Results, Latest News in ITR, Business, Share Market, Live Sensex News & More.
The Economic Times News App for Quarterly Results, Latest News in ITR, Business, Share Market, Live Sensex News & More.
ADVERTISEMENT
