It has stayed a Punjab and Haryana HC order disqualifying five MLAs who had left the Haryana Janhit Congress and joined the Congress led by chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda in 2009.
The Supreme Court has decided to finally settle the dispute between a Speaker of a legislative assembly and a high court over the power to declare a group of legislators disqualified for divorcing their parent political party and joining the ruling class.
It has stayed a Punjab and Haryana HC order disqualifying five MLAs who had left the Haryana Janhit Congress and joined the Congress led by chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda in 2009.
A bench of justices Altamas Kabir and SS Nijjar on Wednesday issued notices to the aggrieved Kuldip Bishnoi-led HJP, the Election Commission, the concerned MLAs and the state government on a lawsuit filed by Speaker HS Chatha, who suffered strictures of the HC on December 20.
The Speaker’s lawyer and attorney general Goolam E Vahanvati argued that the HC’s direction declaring five MLAs detached “ex facie suffer some lack of jurisdiction and non application of mind to the settled law”.
While admitting Bishnoi’s petition complaining that the Speaker had not declared disqualified, the MLAs who left his party to join the Hooda government, the HC had observed that a period of two years has been “consumed by the Speaker to take a decision”.
“The law against defection was enacted to save the sanctity of democratic institution whereas in the present case, the basic object of that law appears to have been lost,” the HC had said.
It also said that the five MLAs would not hold any office until the Speaker decides on Bishnoi’s petition seeking their disqualification by April 30, 2012.They will be “detached”.
The core issue the top court is likely to decide is whether a legislator can be declared “unattached”, a term unknown to the anti defection law.
The amended anti-defection law stipulates that a legislator stands disqualified if he has voluntarily given up membership of his political party, or if he votes or abstains from voting in a House contrary to any direction issued by his parent party or by any authorised person or the party’s authority.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}