Kadakampally SurendranKollam: The Thiruvananthapuram additional chief judicial magistrate has written to Kerala speaker P Sreeramakrishnan seeking permission to arrest power minister Kadakampally Surendran.
In the letter, the magistrate said that Surendran had not appeared in court despite summonses being issued to him repeatedly, which makes his arrest necessary. The letter was received by the speaker's office, two weeks ago.
The speaker's office has referred the matter to legal experts. Surendran, who had taken part in various campaigns against the previous government, has many criminal cases to his name. The court had summoned him many times, before and after he became a minister.
The speaker's office is believed to have been told that permission from the speaker is necessary only when the assembly is in session. There is no hindrance in arresting a member of the assembly if he or she is involved in criminal cases. If however, the assembly is in session, the speaker has to be notified about the intent to arrest through the chief secretary. The arrest should not happen within the close premises of the assembly (16 meters from the front gate and the back of the assembly building).
Similarly, the member should not be arrested from near the Vikas Bhavan as well as from the MLA Hostel.
If it is a civil case, the arrest should not happen when the assembly is in session or before the completion of 40 days after the last session. If the member is arrested or punished under a criminal case, the speaker should be notified formally on record-whether the assembly is in session or not.
The speaker's office has not taken a final decision on what to reply to the court.
