The Supreme Court Today (March 18th) refused to stay the order of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly Speaker disqualifying 6 Congress rebels, who had cross-voted in the recent Rajya Sabha polls in the state.
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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court, Today, declined to issue a stay on the order passed by the Himachal Pradesh Assembly Speaker, which disqualified 6 Congress rebels for cross-voting during the recent Rajya Sabha polls in the state.
A bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta directed the office of HP Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania to respond to the plea within four weeks. Meanwhile, the bench ruled that the rebel HP Congress MLAs would not be permitted to vote or participate in Assembly proceedings pending the adjudication of their plea.
Addressing the issue of by-elections for the six vacant seats, the bench remarked,
“We will have to examine whether the elections which have been notified by the ECI are to be stayed during the pendency of the plea.”
The case has been scheduled for listing on May 6, with the rebel MLAs granted a week to file their rejoinder. Notably, the filing of nominations for the six vacant assembly seats is set to commence on May 7.
Senior Advocate Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi appeared for the Himachal Pradesh speaker. Notably, Singhvi was the Congress candidate for the polls and the cross voting by the petitioner-MLAs had led to his loss.
“Article 329 has kicked in. Court cannot normally stay election process and disqualification cannot be stated,”
-Singhvi told the Court.
The six individuals, namely Sudhir Sharma, Ravi Thakur, Rajinder Rana, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Chetanya Sharma, and Devinder Kumar Bhutto, faced disqualification after failing to adhere to a Congress whip directing them to be present in the House and vote in favor of the Himachal Pradesh government during the cut motion and budget proceedings.
During the previous hearing on March 12, the court queried why the petitioners hadn’t pursued recourse in the high court challenging their disqualification. Counsel representing the petitioners asserted that the circumstances surrounding their disqualification were unique, as the Speaker took action within a remarkably short timeframe of 18 hours.
The petitioners have listed Pathania, state Parliamentary Affairs Minister Harsh Vardhan Chauhan, and others as respondents in their plea filed with the Supreme Court. Following the disqualification of these rebel MLAs, the effective strength of the House diminished from 68 to 62, while the count of Congress MLAs decreased from 40 to 34.
Alleging a violation of the principle of natural justice, the rebel MLAs claimed they were not afforded sufficient opportunity to respond to the disqualification petition.
In an announcement made during a press conference on February 29, the Speaker declared the disqualification of the six MLAs, citing their defiance of the party whip as grounds for invoking the anti-defection law. Consequently, they were stripped of their membership in the House with immediate effect.
The disqualification petition was initiated by the Himachal Pradesh parliamentary affairs minister, alleging the MLAs’ failure to adhere to the party whip during the crucial budget vote. Under the anti-defection law, any elected member who voluntarily renounces their political party’s membership or acts contrary to their party’s directives in the House faces disqualification.
Despite their signatures on the attendance register, these MLAs abstained from participating in the budget vote, prompting the Speaker to issue notices via WhatsApp and email, summoning them for a hearing.
Subsequently, the Himachal Pradesh Assembly passed the Finance Bill by voice vote after the suspension of 15 BJP MLAs by the Speaker, followed by the adjournment of the session.
In his comprehensive 30-page order, the Speaker dismissed the request from the rebel MLAs’ legal representative, senior advocate Satya Pal Jain, for additional time to respond to the notice, citing “clear evidence”. He stressed the necessity of swift judgment in such cases to uphold democratic integrity and thwart political opportunism.
The Speaker clarified that the judgment was unrelated to the MLAs’ cross-voting during the Rajya Sabha polls.
Click Here to Read Previous Reports on Disqualification of MLAs
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