Thiruvananthapuram: General Education Minister V Sivankutty and the other accused in the Kerala Assembly ruckus case have told the chief judicial magistrate court here that they were merely protesting that day.
Videos of the incident from 2015, in which the LDF leaders could be seen throwing the Speaker's chair, besides damaging computers and keyboards inside the assembly, to prevent then finance minister KM Mani from presenting his budget had gone viral.
However, the counsels representing the accused -- Sivankutty, KT Jaleel, EP Jayarajan, K Ajith, K Kunhammad and CK Sadasivan -- said that they did not break the law. The court was considering the discharge applications of the accused.
They have argued that their sole aim was to obstruct the budget speech and that the reported property damage was a result of pushing and shoving inside the assembly.
The accused have claimed that the media had blown the incident out of proportion. The court is set to pronounce its verdict on the applications on October 7.
Another argument put forth by the accused is that the electronic engineer who inspected the electronic panel that was alleged to be damaged by V Sivankutty has not been mentioned in the charge sheet.
