Chairman of the Legislative Council Basavaraj Horatti
| Photo Credit: File Photo

Karnataka Legislative Council Chairman Basavaraj Horatti appears to have set a precedent by allowing the police to register a case and arrest BJP MLC C.T. Ravi for his alleged derogatory remark against Minister for Women and Child Development Laxmi Hebbalkar in the House, when it was adjourned after heated exchanges between ruling Congress and Opposition members.

Some sources in the Congress said Mr. Hotatti being the custodian of the House should have refrained the police from registering the case and arresting Mr. Ravi. The Chairman should have told the police officials that they have no jurisdiction to investigate the matter that occurred inside the House.

A senior Congress leader argued that Mr. Horatti should not have pronounced his verdict on the matter immediately in the House. He should have told members that he needed more time to go through the recordings and other documents to give his ruling.

Former Legislative Council Chairman B.L. Shankar said Mr. Horatti should have referred the matter to the Ethics Committee of the Legislature for a detailed study. Allowing the police to take over the matter would not augur well for the House that belongs to the elders. Such an incident had not occurred in the past, he said. Senior legislator T.B. Jayachandra said the Chairman should have discussed the matter in the business advisory committee.

Sources also said that the High Court of Karnataka’s ruling on the arrest of the BJP MLC caused a lot of embarrassment to the government. The High Court observed that the police prima facie failed to follow the procedure in arresting Mr. Ravi. On Friday, the High Court directed the police to immediately release him from custody.

Another senior Congress leader said presiding officers of both Houses of the legislature “failed” to maintain the decorum of the respective Houses.