Case Note & Summary
The Karnataka High Court division bench heard intra-Court appeals filed against the order dated 24.04.2018 of a single Judge in W.P. Nos. 12338-12339/2018. The single Judge had partly allowed the writ petitions and directed the Hon’ble Speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly to decide a pending disqualification petition on or before 07.05.2018. The original writ petitioners, elected members of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly from the Janatha Dal (Secular) party, alleged that certain other JD(S) MLAs (respondents 4 to 10) voted in violation of a party whip during the Rajya Sabha elections in 2016, casting their ballots for a candidate of the Indian National Congress instead of the JD(S) official candidate. Acting under Rule 6(2) of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly (Disqualification of Members on Ground of Defection) Rules, 1986, they filed a disqualification petition before the Speaker, invoking Article 191(2) and paragraph 2(1)(a) of the Tenth Schedule to the Constitution of India. Despite the completion of pleadings, the Speaker did not decide the petition for over one and a half years. When a fresh Rajya Sabha election was notified for 2018, the petitioners apprehended that the said MLAs would again vote against the party whip, precipitating a constitutional crisis. They therefore approached the High Court seeking a writ of quo warranto for the MLAs to demit office and a writ of mandamus to the Speaker to immediately disqualify them, or alternatively to dispose of the pending petition by 23.03.2018. The single Judge, by the order under challenge, directed the Speaker to decide the disqualification petition by 07.05.2018. Aggrieved by this direction, three sets of appeals were filed: one by the four MLAs who were the original petitioners, another by the Speaker and the Secretary to the Legislative Assembly, and a third by three other MLAs. All appeals were grouped together and heard by a division bench comprising Justices B. Veerappa and S. Sunil Dutt Yadav. After hearing senior counsel for all parties, the court reserved judgment and pronounced it on 07.05.2018. The provided text sets out the factual matrix and the preliminary objections of the respondents but does not include the court’s analysis or final decision.
Headnote
A) Constitutional Law - Disqualification on Ground of Defection - Tenth Schedule, Article 191(2), Karnataka Legislative Assembly (Disqualification of Members on Ground of Defection) Rules, 1986, Rule 6(2) - Interim Direction - Writ petitioners sought disqualification of certain MLAs for voting contrary to party whip in Rajya Sabha elections; disqualification petition filed before Speaker remained undecided for over 1.5 years; learned Single Judge directed Speaker to decide the petition on or before 07.05.2018; intra-Court appeals filed against this direction. (Paras 3-6)
Issue of Consideration
Whether the order of the learned Single Judge directing the Hon’ble Speaker to dispose of the disqualification petition by 07.05.2018 was sustainable in law.
