Madras High Court tells Minister Marie Wilson he is not above the law
The Madras High Court on Friday questioned Tamil Nadu Finance Minister N Marie Wilson’s repeated absence from proceedings before a Judicial Magistrate in Puducherry in an assault case.
Justice V Lakshminarayanan was hearing petitions filed by Wilson in connection with criminal proceedings arising from allegations that he and his father entered the residence of his sister-in-law and allegedly assaulted her and her husband.
During the hearing, the judge reportedly stressed that holding ministerial office does not provide immunity from appearing before a court. The court cited former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao as an example of a senior public office-holder appearing before court proceedings while serving as Prime Minister.
The judge also questioned why Wilson had appeared before the Puducherry court when he was an MLA but stopped doing so after becoming a minister.
The immediate dispute involved an additional charge sheet filed before the Puducherry Magistrate. Wilson’s counsel said a copy had not been supplied to the accused. The court questioned how the accused expected to obtain the document when they were not appearing before the Magistrate.
The case stems from a family dispute reportedly involving the adoption and upbringing of a minor child. The allegations include trespass, assault, verbal abuse and criminal intimidation.
The matter had earlier gone towards mediation because the parties are relatives. However, the complainant subsequently declined to continue with the process. The High Court noted that mediation could not be forced on an unwilling party and proceeded to examine the legal challenge.
Wilson’s counsel also sought exemption from his court appearance, citing the ongoing Assembly session. His lawyer additionally informed the court that the minister had travelled to the Velankanni shrine.
The petition was later withdrawn after the court was informed that a fresh charge sheet had been filed. The High Court allowed the withdrawal and granted Wilson exemption from appearing before the Puducherry court until August 31.
The court, however, directed his counsel to provide the date on which the minister would appear before the Magistrate.