Governor’s sanction required to take cognisance against CM: court

The prosecution sanction from the Governor is required for a court to take cognisance against the Chief Minister in an alleged offence of abetment, the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Ernakulam, has said.

The court made the observation while considering a petition filed by Muhammad Shiyas, president of the Ernakulam District Congress Committee, seeking the registration of a case against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for abetment of violence.

The judge noted that the complainant must obtain prosecution sanction from the Governor for the court to take cognisance of the alleged offence.

In his complaint, Mr. Shiyas alleged that the Chief Minister abetted DFYI activists in unleashing violence against Congress and Youth Congress workers during the ‘Navakerala Sadas’ undertaken by the State Cabinet, which covered all 140 Assembly constituencies in the State. He pointed out that the Chief Minister had claimed the DFYI activists were carrying out a “rescue mission” by removing Youth Congress workers protesting in front of the bus carrying him and his Cabinet colleagues. The statement of Mr. Vijayan amounted to abetment, he alleged.

The court posted the case for November 1.