Journalists row: Belagere, Anil Raj submit review petition to Koliwad

BENGALURU:

High drama

prevailed in the corridors of

Vidhana Soudha

as Kannada tabloid journalists Ravi

Belagere and Anil Raj

appeared before assembly speaker K B Koliwad to submit their

review petition

.

Amidst heavy media presence, a visibly ailing Belagere assisted by Raj and their lawyer Shankarappa appeared before the speaker and asked for a review of the penal clauses of one-year jail term and Rs 10,000 fine for breach of privilege of legislators.

During the arguments, Shankarappa told Koliwad that the recommendations of the privilege committee were not applicable as the articles and defamatory material, perceived to be a breach of privilege by the assembly, were outside the purview of the legislature.

“The legislators, who have complained against the two journalists to the assembly, never faced any hurdles due to the articles in discharging their duties as MLAs. As per the practices and procedures of ancient parliaments, such matters fell outside the purview of the legislature as they did not occur on issues inside the premises of the legislature,” submitted Shankarappa.

In reply, Koliwad intervened and read portions of M N Kaul and S L Shakdhar which provides the legislature powers to indict people who are outside the house if it is found that they had breached the privilege of the members.

Shankarappa countered by saying there were precedents in Tamil Nadu wherein the Madras high court in the case of S Balakrishnan vs state of Tamil Nadu in 1995 fined the state government for having passed privilege motion against the aggrieved party despite it not being under its purview.

The lawyer for the two journalists said MLA S R Vishwanath had already filed two private complaint with the ACMM court against Raj and that this was not disclosed to either the assembly or presented in the privilege committee report.

“This leads to double jeopardy, with a case already being filed in the ACMM court and also being recommended for jail term for the same allegations by the privilege committee. This has also been brought to the notice of the HC,” Shankarappa submitted to the Speaker.

Later, speaking to the media, Shankarappa said: “We have filed a review petition with the Assembly, after an undertaking given was given by the state government to the HC that the two journalists will not be arrested until the assembly reconsiders the previous resolution against the two journalists. There is no breach of privilege under article 194 (3) of the constitution in this case.”

Meanwhile, reacting to the submissions made by the two journalists, Koliwad said he will look into the matter.

“I will take the submission under consideration and will look into the matter,” he said.

No wheelchair in secretariat, ailing Belagere forced to be taken in a rolling chair

After his lawyer made the submission, a visibly struggling Kannada journalist Ravi Belagere was forced to be rolled out from the assembly speaker’s chambers to the gates of the Vidhana Soudha in an ordinary rolling chair.

Belagere, who struggled to walk into the speaker’s chamber, could not walk back to the gates of the secretariat even with assistance. He slumped into a chair outside the speaker’s chambers.

People accompanying Belagere frantically tried to get a wheelchair to assist the tabloid journalist to ferry him to the car waiting outside the secretariat gates.

However, having found none, Belagere was taken in an ordinary rolling chair.