New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed the plea of sacked CWG Organising Committee Chairman
Suresh Kalmadi, a Lok Sabha MP, seeking permission to attend
the ongoing Parliament session.
"In view of the gravity of the offence and the
allegation of huge magnitude, it would be totally
inappropriate to grant him permission solely on the ground of
freedom of speech inside the Parliament House, on the
foundation that he has to meet the Constitutional obligation.
The writ petition is dismissed," the bench, comprising Chief
Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Sanjiv Khanna, said.
The Congress Lok Sabha member from Pune had moved the
division bench of the High Court challenging the order of its
single-judge bench of Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw, who had
rejected his plea for the permission dubbing it as "an
attempt to get fresh air outside the prison".
Kalmadi had filed the appeal contending that the single
judge had wrongly equated the rights of an MP with those of
common people despite the Constitution conferring some
privileges on parliamentarians.
The 67-year-old MP is facing criminal proceedings for
his alleged role in awarding a lucrative Commonwealth Games
contract to a Swiss firm at inflated rates.
Kalmadi had sought the court`s permission claiming that
attending Parliament session is his duty towards his
electorate and is linked to his right to freedom of speech
and expression.
PTI
