The Hindu : SC stays proceedings against Karunakaran

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Friday, Apr 11, 2003

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SC stays proceedings against Karunakaran

By Our Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI April 10. The Supreme Court today stayed all further proceedings in a Tiruvananthapuram special court against the former Kerala Chief Minister and Congress MP, K. Karunakaran, in the `Rs. 2.80-crore palm oil import scam'.

A Bench, comprising Chief Justice V.N. Khare and Justice S.B. Sinha, stayed the proceedings taken in pursuance of a judgment of the Kerala High Court dated February 19 that no permission of the Lok Sabha Speaker would be necessary to prosecute the petitioner despite the fact that he was an MP when he was chargesheeted.

The Bench issued notice to the Kerala Government.

In 1997, the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, Special Cell, Tiruvananthapuram, registered a case against Mr. Karunakaran and seven others under the Prevention of Corruption Act, alleging that in the import of palm oil from Singapore during his tenure as Chief Minister, the State exchequer sustained a pecuniary loss of Rs. 2.8 crores.

The special court in March 2001 held that it was necessary to obtain sanction from the Lok Sabha Speaker for taking cognisance of the case.

But on a revision petition filed by the State, the High Court on February 19 held that no sanction was necessary and, accordingly, further proceedings were initiated before the special court.

The special leave petition (SLP) by Mr. Karunakaran was directed against this judgment.

He submitted that the SLP raised important questions of law, viz., whether even if a public servant had ceased to hold that office which he was alleged to have misused, and on the date of taking cognisance of the offence, he was a public servant holding a different public office, sanction of the competent authority of the present public office was necessary to prosecute him.

Further, could an MP be prosecuted for the alleged offence without prior sanction of the Lok Sabha Speaker?

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