In State of Kerala v. K. Ajith (SLP(Crl) No. 4009 of 2021) and the tagged connected matter V. Sivankutty v. State of Kerala (SLP(Crl) No. 4481 of 2021), the Supreme Court of India ruled on July 28, 2021, that legislative privileges and immunities under Article 194 of the Constitution do not grant immunity from criminal law for acts of public property destruction committed inside the assembly floor.
Factual Matrix in Brief
On March 13, 2015, during the budget presentation by the Finance Minister in the Kerala Legislative Assembly, opposition MLAs caused major disruptions, climbed onto the Speaker’s dais, and damaged public property (including the Speaker’s chair, computers, and microphones), resulting in an assessed financial loss of ₹2,20,093. Cases were filed under sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for criminal trespass and mischief, alongside the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.
The state later attempted to withdraw the criminal prosecution against the legislators under Section 321 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
The Chief Judicial Magistrate in Thiruvananthapuram, and subsequently a Single Judge of the High Court of Kerala in State Of Kerala v. K. Ajith on 12 March 2021, declined permission to withdraw the criminal case, leading to the appeals via Special Leave Petitions in the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court dismissed the appeals filed by the State and the accused leaders, upholding the lower and high court orders. The apex court explicitly stated that destroying public property cannot be equated with freedom of speech or legitimate parliamentary protest inside the House.
The Core of the Ruling by the Supreme Court
- Privileges and immunities enjoyed by members of the legislature are meant to facilitate uninhibited expression and functioning of the House; they are not a gateway or shield to claim exemption from general criminal laws or acts of destruction.
- Violent destruction of public property inside the legislature does not form an essential part of legislative “proceedings” protected under Article 194(2) of the Constitution.
- The Court added that elected representatives are bound by the same criminal laws as ordinary citizens and cannot use constitutional privileges to shield acts of destruction.
Application for Withdrawing a Case under Section 321 CrPC
The Supreme Court examined the parameters required for a public prosecutor to withdraw a case, emphasizing that withdrawal cannot be used arbitrarily to subvert public justice or shield political vandalism.
