CHENNAI:Observing that the petition by DMDK the principal opposition to implead itself in the case related to the live telecast of Assembly proceedings was an attempt to get extra mileage, the Madras High Court dismissed it on Wednesday.
“We see no need of the party to assist us in the proceedings which are in the final hearing stage,” said the first Bench of Chief Justice SK Kaul and TS Sivagnanam.
The Bench passed the order while hearing a PIL moved by Lok Satta Party seeking a direction for live telecast of the entire Assembly proceedings.
Meanwhile, when the petition came up for hearing, the State government submitted that the decision was in the exclusive domain of the House and its Speaker.
“The intervention sought for by the Lok Satta Party invoking writ jurisdiction through a PIL to force a sovereign legislative body to telecast its proceedings live is without merits and ought not to be countenanced,” said AMP Jamaludeen, the State Assembly Secretary in his submissions.
According to the Director of Information and Public Relations, it would cost around Rs 60 crore for setting up of state-of-the-art system to telecast live the Assembly proceedings and a recurring expenditure of Rs 20.60 lakh to run a dedicated channel, including the payment of salary for a team of about 82.
Further, he submitted that nearly 80 per cent of the states in the country did not telecast entire Assembly proceedings live. The Advocate General also submitted that the matter was for the Speaker to decide whether there was a need for live telecast.
Meanwhile, referring to a number of judgments, the counsel for the petitioner contended that the matter does not fall within the exclusive domain of the speaker. Recording the submissions, the Bench said, “We have thus decided to hear the matter in the aforesaid context. Let the writ petition be listed when the matters of 2012 are taken.”