Pepper spray case dismissed

The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition by former Congress MP Ponnam Prabhakar seeking the filing of a case by the Delhi police against his party colleague Lagadapati Rajagopal for spraying pepper spray in the Lok Sabha on February 14, 2014. The incident occurred during the debate on bifurcation of undivided Andhra Pradesh.

A two-member bench comprising Justice J. Chelameswar and Justice S. Abdul Nazeer was dismissing the petition on the ground that it was moved three years after the incident.

When the petition came up for hearing, the bench asked petitioner’s counsel K. Sravan Kumar about posting the case till after the summer vacation. While agreeing, counsel urged the court to issue notices to the respondents.

At this stage, the bench asked counsel to explain the merits of the case. Counsel narrated the incidents in the Lok Sabha and said Mr Prabhakar had filed a complaint with the Parliament Street police station regarding the and had written to the Speaker, Secretary General of the Lok Sabha and Chairman of Lok Sabha Privileges Committee.

He urged the court to direct the respondents to take stringent action besides directing the respondents to formulate a code of conduct for public representatives.

The bench said that the petition was devoid of merits and filed after three years of the incident and liable for dismissal.