Mamkootathil's disqualification can be considered by assembly only on an MLA's complaint: Speaker A N Shamseer

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala assembly Speaker A N Shamseer on Wednesday said that only a complaint by an MLA seeking the disqualification of expelled Congress legislator Rahul Mamkootathil can be acted upon by the Privileges and Ethics Committee of the House.

Shamseer said that several private complaints seeking the disqualification of Mamkootathil have been received, but the same cannot be acted upon by the committee.

The Speaker said that only a complaint by an MLA can be forwarded by him to the committee and not that of a private person, as they have no role in the working of the assembly.

Once such a complaint by an MLA is examined by the Privileges and Ethics Committee, it will come to the floor of the House where further action will be decided, he told reporters here.

Mamkootathil was recently arrested and is currently in the custody of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the cases of sexual assault registered against him.

The MLA is an accused in three sexual assault cases, of which he has been protected from arrest in two of them.

He was arrested on Sunday in the third case and sent to SIT custody a day ago by a court in Pathanamthitta.