Sacked Commonwealth Games Organising Committee chief Suresh Kalmadi, arrested for his alleged role in awarding a lucrative Games contract to a Swiss firm at inflated rates, on Friday moved the Delhi high court for its permission to attend Parliament.
The 67-year-old Congress MP from Pune moved the high court challenging its single bench's order which had rejected his plea for permission to attend Parliament, dubbing his request as "an attempt to get fresh air outside the prison".
Kalmadi sought the court's permission claiming that attending Parliament session is his duty towards his electorate and is linked to his right to the freedom of speech and expression. Kalmadi's plea is likely to be heard on Monday.
Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw had earlier rejected his plea saying, "when the petitioner could afford to miss Parliament, then his desire/keenness to attend it now can only be understood as an attempt to get fresh air outside the prison walls."
The judge had also imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on him and had directed him to deposit it with the prime minister's National Relief Fund.
Accepting the CBI plea that the rights of an MP to attend Parliament could not be more than the rights of any ordinary citizen who are under arrest, Justice Endlaw had said "merely because the petitioner (Kalmadi) is an MP does not entitle him to claim any exception from the effect of being in detention."
While dismissing Kalmadi's argument that his past Parliament attendance records ranged from 80 to 100 percent, the judge had said "it cannot also lose sight of the fact that the petitioner had in the past, as per his convenience, missed Parliament sessions."
