Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Leader of the Opposition V D Satheesan on Tuesday said the Assembly’s Ethics Committee has no authority to expel or disqualify a legislator merely on the basis of allegations.

Responding to reporters’ questions on a complaint filed by CPM MLA DK Murali seeking the disqualification of expelled Congress MLA Rahul Mamkootathil, who faces multiple sexual assault allegations, Satheesan said the opposition does not support any move by the Ethics Committee to disqualify MLAs accused in criminal cases.

“Neither the Legislative Assembly nor the Ethics Committee has the power to expel a member,” Satheesan said, calling it the opposition’s clear and consistent stand.

He pointed out that while the Congress has expelled the Palakkad MLA from the party, this alone cannot be grounds to strip him of his Assembly membership. “Being named as an accused is not sufficient to cancel a legislator’s membership,” he said.

Satheesan said an MLA would lose membership only upon conviction by a court, citing the earlier disqualification of Left MLA Antony Raju following his conviction in a 1990 drug seizure case involving evidence tampering.

“There is a law and a Supreme Court judgment on this,” the Leader of the Opposition said. Questioning the logic behind the complaint, Satheesan said many legislators face one case or another. “Can the Ethics Committee disqualify all of them?” he asked, adding that the Assembly cannot exercise powers it does not legally possess.

Mamkootathil, who represents the Palakkad constituency, was arrested last month in connection with one of the rape cases registered against him and was later released on bail. The Kerala High Court and a sessions court in Thiruvananthapuram had earlier granted him protection from arrest in two other sexual assault cases filed by two different women.