The Madras High Court has referred the 2017 breach of privilege proceedings against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK chief MK Stalin and 17 others to the present Assembly, stating that such proceedings can continue even after the dissolution of the House. The issue pertains to the display of banned 'gutka' (chewing tobacco) sachets in the Assembly in 2017 to illustrate their easy availability under the AIADMK regime.
In 2020, a single judge had cancelled the show-cause notices issued to the accused, prompting the Assembly Secretary and the then chairman of the Privileges Committee to file an appeal the following year.
The DMK came to power in 2021 and Mr Stalin became the chief minister. The party argued that the proceedings initiated by the earlier Assembly can't continue now.
The high court observed that incomplete proceedings could not be considered to have lapsed as that would render privileges meaningless. It ruled that if motions are interpreted to lapse after a term, MLAs will not take privileges seriously. The court also held that the single judge ought not to have cancelled the show-cause notices.
AIADMK, which is now in the opposition, said the order is a huge victory and has come after a legal struggle. Former MLA IS Inbadurai, who is part of the party's legal wing, said, "This order could create a situation under which Chief Minister MK Stalin would have to appear before the privileges committee, in which our leader EPS is a member as Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly."
DMK Spokesperson A Saravanan said "The general practice is that all business linked to a particular Assembly gets extinguished at the end of the term. The court has now differed and we will examine how legally sound that is."
