VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Thursday refused to halt the Legislative Assembly Privileges Committee’s proceedings against the management of Telugu daily Sakshi over a ‘misleading’ report.
It may be recalled that the Privileges Committee served a showcause notice to Sakshi’s editor Dhananjaya Reddy and Chief Reporter B Phani Kumar over the report, which allegedly misled the public, and undermined the Assembly.
A division bench, led by Chief Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur, said the court could not intervene at the show-cause notice stage. However, it allowed the editor to submit additional material to the committee, and deferred their scheduled appearance before the Privileges Committee on November 21.
MLA G Jayasurya complained that the report wrongly alleged massive waste of public funds due to the postponed MLA training session. The Assembly Speaker referred the matter to the Privileges Committee, which issued showcause notices to Sakshi. The daily management challenged the notices, but a single-judge bench dismissed their petitions, prompting the present appeal.
During the hearing, the daily’s counsel argued that the committee lacked authority and had ignored their explanations. The Advocate General countered that the inquiry is still preliminary, and that only the Assembly’s final decision is subject to judicial review.
The court posted the matter after two weeks, confirming that the Privileges Committee’s probe will continue.