For once, SC speaks up for Speaker

New Delhi: Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee is a happy man.

Having been involved in an ugly spat with the judiciary for what he called was excessive judicial activism, he got some support from the judiciary itself when the Supreme Court turned down the petitions of nine Haryana MLAs to dismiss the Speaker in a 2004 case.

In fact the ourt advised Parliament to protect the dignity of the high office that the Speaker holds.

“The court has advised Parliament to frame some guidelines to protect the dignity of Speakers office,” says, advocate for Haryana MLAs, Jasbir Malik

The case dates back to 2004 when Om Prakash Chautala-led Indian National Lok Dal was in power in Haryana. Nine MLAs had filed a petition challenging their disqualification by the Speaker under the anti-defection law.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice Y K Sabharwal and Justices C K Thakkar and P K Balasubramanyan dismissed the petitions of Jagjit Singh, Bhim Sen Mehta, Devraj Dewan, Karan Singh Dalal, Jai Prakash and Rajinder Singh Bisla, who had defected to Congress on the eve of the Rajya Sabha elections in 2004.

The apex court said the petitions were devoid of merit as their total strength was less than the requisite strength and hence their act of changing the party cannot be called a split and therefore, they were liable to be disqualified under the provisions of the anti-defection law.

This though could just be a temporary reprieve. There is a larger Constitution bench which is examining the case of 40 BSP MLAs in UP who had extended support to Samajwadi party in 2003.

The court is yet to rule whether it agrees with the UP Assembly speakers decision recognising the split.