Apex court asks for AG help

Apex court asks for AG help

The peculiar instance of a sacked Education Minister in Puducherry, accused of using unfair means while appearing for the Class X supplementary examination and now facing arrest, has caught the attention of the Supreme Court. Finding the case to be guided more by “political” reasons, the court sought the assistance of the Attorney General in this regard.

The accused MLA P Kalyanasundaram, currently absconding, was serving in the Puducherry Cabinet as Transport and Education Minister till a case against him in October this year ended his political career. An elected representative from Kalapet constituency, Kalyanasundaram had approached the Supreme Court for protection from arrest following the Madras High Court denying him anticipatory bail on November 8.

The apex bench of Justices Altamas Kabir and SS Nijjar, before it called for Attorney General GE Vahanvati’s assistance remarked, “This seems to be a kind of washing dirty linen in public.” The case will be heard on Monday as till then the Court secured an undertaking from the Tamil Nadu police not to arrest the accused politician.

The 34-year old legislator claimed he had every proof to suggest that on September 29, 2011 he went to the examination centre to appear in the supplementary Science paper of Class X. On the next day he was to appear for Social Studies paper, which he could not attend due to preoccupation with affairs of the Legislative Assembly.

The Tamil Nadu police’s investigation concluded that the Minister never appeared in the examination as he misused his position to fix the invigilators who allowed another person to sit in his place. On October 14, the police sought permission of the Court to arrest him on forgery and cheating charges.

Denying the criminal case against him, Kalyanasundaram’s lawyer senior advocate UU Lalit dismissed the complaint as “frivolous” and guided by political motives.