The Rajasthan High Court will on Friday rule on a petition filed by former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot and 18 Congress rebel MLAs against the disqualification notice issued by Assembly Speaker to disqualify them as MLAs, after the Supreme Court allowed the High Court to pass orders. However, the top court clarified that the judgement passed by the High Court will remain subject to final orders of the apex court, which means it will not be implemented till the top court decides on the Speaker’s query: Can courts interfere with the disqualification proceedings initiated by the Speaker at an interim stage before a decision is taken?
Appearing for Rajasthan Assembly Speaker, senior lawyer Kapil Sibal had argued that MLAs can’t move court against Speaker’s notices if action has not yet been taken. He pointed out that MLAs didn’t attend party meetings, indulged in antiparty activities and sought a floor test while sitting incommunicado in a Haryana hotel. He urged the court not to pass any orders to protect MLAs at this stage, although the court had already made it clear that they will not say if the Speaker’s conduct is bona fide or mala fide. But the Justice Arun Mishra-led bench observed: “Can a person elected by people not express his dissent? Voice of dissent cannot be suppressed. In a democracy, can somebody be shut down like this? The case requires prolonged hearing. It involves the very question of democracy itself.” Appearing for the former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot and 18 other rebel MLAs, senior lawyer Mukul Rohatgi argued that the Speaker himself had given two letters in the High Court agreeing to defer proceedings, but hasn’t put them on record. Rohatgi questioned the political overtones of the Speaker. “If the Speaker can himself agree to defer twice, why can’t he wait for another 24 hours?” Senior lawyer Harish Salve also said that issues of jurisdiction and maintainability have already been argued before the High Court where even the Speaker was represented, so why was an issue being created now?
From Monday, the apex court will begin hearing on the Speaker’s plea questioning Rajasthan HC’s jurisdiction and the ancillary question of silencing dissent with disqualification.
The Supreme Court was hearing an appeal filed by Rajasthan Assembly Speaker CP Joshi against the Rajasthan High Court order which asked him to postpone disqualification proceedings against former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot and 18 other rebel MLAs till July 24. In his petition, the Speaker has said that HC order “completely destroys the delicate balance envisaged by the Constitution between the Legislature and the Judiciary” and called the HC order “illegal, perverse, and in derogation of the powers of the Speaker”.
0 On Tuesday, the Rajasthan High court had reserved its order on a petition filed by former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot and 18 MLAs challenging the disqualification proceedings initiated by the Speaker against them. The High Court had requested the Speaker to defer action on disqualification notices till Friday.