CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu finance minister Marie Wilson is not the King of England; he cannot say that he will not appear before a court, the Madras high court said on Friday.Justice V Lakshminarayan made the observation when the minister sought exemption from appearing before a Puducherry court in connection with a criminal case pending against him for allegedly assaulting his brother and sister-in-law in 2022.The issue pertains to a plea moved by Wilson seeking to quash the case. On Friday, when the plea came up for hearing, his counsel sought exemption from his appearance before the court on the ground that the state Assembly session is currently underway.Refusing to accept the submission, the judge pointed out that even former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao had appeared before a court while holding office.Pointing out that he appeared in the court before he became a minister, the court wondered whether he could refuse to appear after becoming a minister.The court then directed the minister’s counsel to inform the court of the date on which he would appear before the Puducherry court and adjourned the hearing to the afternoo
